ICE removes Mexican citizen wanted for homicide in his home country

LOS ANGELES — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers removed a 30-year-old Mexican national and turned him over to law enforcement authorities in Mexico Monday. Pedro Ramirez Morales, aka Diego Perez Ramirez, is wanted in Mexico for homicide, making him a public safety enforcement priority for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

Ramirez Morales was unlawfully present in the United States and had previously been granted voluntary return to Mexico in October and November 2017, after entering without being admitted or inspected by an immigration officer. He was removed by ICE in December 2017, after illegally returning a third time.

On March 9, 2018, the Mexican Public Minister of Court Enforcement in Penjamo, Guanajuato, issued an arrest warrant for Ramirez Morales for the offense of homicide. ERO officers arrested Ramirez Morales during a targeted enforcement operation in Santa Fe Springs, California, June 17. The Government of Mexico confirmed the validity of the arrest warrant for Ramirez Morales, June 24.

After receiving all legal due process and exhausting appeals, Ramirez Morales was removed again to Mexico.

The National Fugitive Operations Program (NFOP) provides policy direction, strategic planning and operational oversight for ICE’s ERO efforts to locate, arrest and reduce the population of at-large removable noncitizens within the United States, to include foreign fugitives wanted for serious crimes committed abroad.

ICE continues to implement 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 carries out its duty to enforce the laws of the United States in accordance with the Department’s national security and public safety mission.