ICE removes Paisas gang member wanted for homicide who illegally entered US 10 times

HOUSTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed Humberto Romero Avila, a 45-year-old Paisas gang member and foreign fugitive, to Mexico Feb. 13. Romero has illegally entered the U.S. 10 times and is wanted in Mexico for allegedly murdering Geovany Uriel Prado Morales, a 22-year-old Mexican national, Dec. 2, 2007, in Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico.

ICE transported Romero from the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe to the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge in Laredo where he was transferred into the custody of Mexican authorities.

Romero has been convicted four times of driving while intoxicated and once for larceny, illegal entry, and illegal reentry while in the U.S. illegally.

“For nearly a quarter of a century, this transnational gang member has blatantly disregarded our nation’s immigration and criminal laws, putting the life of every person he’s encountered in danger,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston Field Office Director Bret Bradford. “On top of that, he’s accused of brutally gunning down an innocent 22-year-old man in Mexico in 2007. In the more than 30 years that I’ve worked in immigration enforcement, I’m not sure I’ve ever come across a more egregious offender or a better example of why immigration enforcement is so critical to maintaining public safety. Thanks to the immigration officers who worked closely with the U.S. Embassy in Mexico to connect this foreign fugitive to the open warrant for homicide, he will no longer be free to reign terror on the general public, and finally face justice for his alleged involvement in that heinous crime that took place 18 years ago.”

Romero illegally entered the U.S. March 22, 2002; June 14, 2002; June 16, 2002; June 20, 2002; and March 3, 2005. On each occasion, he was immediately apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol and voluntarily returned to Mexico the same day.

Romero illegally entered the U.S. for a sixth time on an unknown date and at an unknown location and was not encountered until Aug. 3, 2012, at the Nacogdoches County Jail in Nacogdoches following his arrest for driving under the influence. ICE lodged an immigration detainer with the jail, and he was released into ICE custody Aug. 9, 2012, and placed into immigration proceedings. An immigration judge with the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review ordered Romero removed from the U.S. to Mexico Aug. 24, 2012. ICE officers carried out that order and removed Romero to Mexico Aug. 27, 2012.

Romero illegally entered the U.S. for a seventh time on an unknown date and at an unknown location and was encountered Aug. 31, 2013, at the Shelby County Jail in Center following his arrest for larceny and DWI (third offense). ICE lodged an immigration detainer with the jail, and he was transferred into ICE custody Jan. 14, 2014. ICE reinstated his prior order of removal, and he was removed to Mexico Jan. 16, 2014.

Romero illegally entered the U.S. for an eighth time Feb. 7, 2014, and was immediately apprehended by the Border Patrol. His prior order of removal was reinstated and the Border Patrol removed Romero to Mexico Feb. 11, 2014.

Romero illegally entered the U.S. for a ninth time March 7, 2014, and he was immediately apprehended by the Border Patrol. His prior order of removal was reinstated, and the Border Patrol forwarded his case for prosecution for illegal entry. Romero was convicted of illegal entry March 10, 2014, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas and sentenced to 150 days incarceration. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons transferred Romero into ICE custody Aug. 1, 2014, following his release from prison and he was removed to Mexico that same day.

Romero illegally entered the U.S. for a 10th time on an unknown date and at an unknown location and wasn’t encountered again until March 22, 2024, following his arrest for felony DWI (fourth offense) in Shelby County. ICE lodged an immigration detainer with the jail and forwarded his case for prosecution for illegal reentry. While conducting routine background checks, ICE was notified by the U.S. Embassy in Mexico, that Romero was wanted for homicide in Mexico. Romero was convicted of illegal reentry Jan. 28, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas and was sentenced to time served. The Bureau of Prisons transferred Romero into ICE custody Jan. 31 and his prior order of removal was reinstated.

Members of the public who have information about foreign fugitives, transnational gang members or other criminal aliens who are in the U.S. illegally 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.

For more news and information on how ICE carries out its immigration enforcement mission in Southeast Texas follow us on X at @EROHouston.