ICE removes convicted felon tied to 1985 murder of DEA Special Agent Enrique ‘Kiki’ Camarena Salazar
Members of the ERO El Paso Special Response Team escort Juan Jose Bernabe Ramirez, 62, to the U.S.-Mexico international boundary at the Paso del Norte Bridge where he was turned over to the custody of Mexican authorities.
WASHINGTON — A convicted aggravated felon involved in the 1985 kidnapping and murder of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena Salazar, was removed to Mexico on Wednesday by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
Juan Jose Bernabe Ramirez, 62, a Mexican citizen, was turned over to Mexican immigration officials on the international boundary at the Paso Del Norte Bridge in downtown El Paso, Texas. Bernabe is considered a threat to public safety due to his criminal convictions.
On July 20, 1989, Bernabe was admitted into the United States as a non-immigrant visitor in Los Angeles for up to six months. On July 27, 1989, DEA agents arrested him for his involvement in the kidnapping and murder of Special Agent Camarena. Bernabe was convicted on July 30, 1990, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles, for violent crimes in aid of racketeering aiding and abetting and accessory after the fact. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison for each charge. Additionally, on the same date, he was convicted of kidnapping a federal agent aiding and abetting and sentenced to life in prison.
“Our ERO officers, especially those working closely with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, stand ready to assist our law enforcement partners 24 hours a day,” said Denice Seemiller, acting field office director for ERO Salt Lake City. “The gruesome nature of this case is extremely unsettling. Our dedicated officers diligently worked on making all the necessary arrangements to ensure Bernabe’s removal was seamless. His arrest and removal from the United States sends a clear message that we will not tolerate heinous criminals being released into our communities.”
On Jan. 13, 1992, officers with the former U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in Kansas City, Missouri, encountered Bernabe at the United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth in Leavenworth, Kansas, and determined him to be in violation of his non-immigrant visitor status. As a result, the officers issued an immigration detainer with the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
On Sept. 9, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles, granted Bernabe’s motion to vacate, set aside or correct his sentence. On Dec. 17, the Court accepted his plea of guilty to accessory after the fact and conspiracy to commit, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and sentenced Bernabe to time served. The next day, the BOP transferred him to the custody of ERO Salt Lake City pursuant to the immigration detainer lodged on Jan. 13, 1992.
On Dec. 23, ERO Salt Lake City issued and served Bernabe a Notice of Intent to Issue Final Administrative Removal Order, and Final Administrative Removal Order because he was convicted of an aggravated felony.
ICE is charged with enforcing federal immigration laws enacted by Congress. ICE officers are sworn law enforcement officers who carry out the arrest, detention and removal of individuals found to be in the United States unlawfully.
ICE lodges immigration detainers on individuals, such as Bernabe, who have been arrested on criminal charges and who are suspected of being amenable to removal, so that ICE can take custody of them after they’ve completed their sentences.
ICE is now implementing the interim civil immigration enforcement priorities directed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to focus its limited resources on threats to national security, border security and public safety. ICE continues to carry out its duty to enforce the laws of the United States in accordance with the Department’s national security and public safety mission.
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