ICE removes 2 noncitizen Salvadoran fugitives wanted for aggravated homicide

HOUSTON — Officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Houston Field Office, ERO El Salvador and the Security Alliance for Fugitive Enforcement (SAFE) taskforce removed two noncitizen foreign fugitives Friday wanted in El Salvador for aggravated homicide.

On Jan. 28, noncitizen Salvadoran nationals Oscar Melkin Moreno Romero, 28, and Hernan Quintanilla Herrera, 44, were flown from Alexandria, Louisiana, to the Monseñor Óscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport in San Salvador, El Salvador, on a charter flight coordinated by ICE’s Air Operations Unit. Upon arrival, both fugitives were turned over to officials from El Salvador’s Civilian National Police (PNC).

Both Moreno Romero and Quintanilla Herrera illegally entered the U.S. without inspection on an unknown date and at unknown location. On June 4, 2021, Moreno Romero was arrested by the Montgomery County (Texas) Constables Office during a routine traffic stop when it was discovered that there was an active Interpol Red Notice for aggravated homicide in El Salvador calling for his provisional arrest pending extradition. That same day he was transferred into ICE custody and placed into immigration proceedings. On Nov. 22, 2021, an immigration judge with the Executive Office for Immigration Review ordered Moreno Romero removed from the U.S. to El Salvador. An appeal of that decision with the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) was subsequently denied, Dec. 13, 2021, paving the way for his removal to El Salvador.

Quintanilla Herrera was arrested March 21, 2021, by fugitive operations officers from ICE ERO Houston after it was discovered there was an active Interpol Red Notice for aggravated homicide and illicit groups in El Salvador calling for his provisional arrest pending extradition. On July 1, 2021, an immigration judge ordered Quintanilla Herrera removed from the U.S. to El Salvador. An appeal of that decision with the BIA was subsequently denied, Nov. 30, 2021.

Members of the public who have information about foreign fugitives are urged to contact ICE by calling the ICE Tip Line at 1 (866) 347-2423 or internationally at 001-1802-872-6199. They can also file a tip online by completing ICE’s online tip form.

ICE focuses its civil immigration enforcement priorities on the apprehension and removal of noncitizens who pose a threat to our national security, public safety and border security.