ICE removes murder suspect wanted in Honduras

NEWARK — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) removed a fugitive citizen of Honduras Friday wanted by Honduran law enforcement authorities for homicide.

Erick Raudales-Raudales, aka Gerson Reiniri Raudales-Acosta, 24, unlawfully entered the United States, at a location and date unknown.

On Feb. 12, 2012, U.S. Border Patrol arrested Raudales-Raudales as an alien present in the United States without being admitted or paroled under the name Gerson Raudales-Acosta. He was subsequently released on bond pending immigration proceedings.

On May 16, 2017, ERO Newark received a picture and fingerprint card of a subject identified as Erick Raudales-Raudales from the ICE Attaché’s Office in Honduras, notifying ERO Newark that Erick Raudales-Raudales had warrants in Honduras for homicide.  ERO Newark confirmed the fingerprints were an exact match for fingerprints taken from Gerson Raudales-Acosta at the time of his arrest by the U.S. Border Patrol in 2012.

On May 18, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) filed a motion to reopen Raudales-Raudales’ immigration proceedings with the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).  An immigration judge granted DHS’s motion to reopen the case, and ERO Newark arrested Raudales-Raudales and canceled his immigration bond on June 9, 2017.

On July 6, 2017, he admitted to EOIR that his true identity is Erick Raudales-Raudales.

On Aug. 9, 2017, an immigration judge ordered Raudales-Raudales removed from the United States to Honduras. He waived his right to appeal. Today, ERO officers turned him over to Honduran authorities.