ICE removes Salvadoran gang member who illegally entered US 3 times

HOUSTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with assistance from the Security Alliance for Fugitive Enforcement Task Force, removed William Alexander Diaz Reyes, a 32-year-old foreign fugitive, from the United States Feb. 14. Diaz is wanted in El Salvador for aggravated terrorist organizations for his status as an active member of the 18th Street transnational gang.

Diaz was flown from Alexandria, Louisiana, on a charter flight coordinated by ICE's Air Operations Unit, to the El Salvador International Airport Saint Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez in San Salvador, El Salvador. He was turned over to Salvadoran authorities upon arrival.

“For far too long, dangerous foreign fugitives, transnational gang members and other violent criminal aliens have illegally entered this country through our southern border with impunity putting the lives of law-abiding residents in jeopardy,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston Field Office Director Bret Bradford. “Those days are over, as the law enforcement community in South Texas is more united than ever in our collective effort to enforce the laws of this nation and protect our communities from harm.”

Diaz illegally entered the U.S. at least twice in 2021 and was expelled under Title 42 on May 15, 2021, and June 18, 2021. Diaz illegally entered the U.S. for a third time on an unknown date, and at an unknown location. He was apprehended by ICE April 19, 2024, and placed into immigration proceedings. An immigration judge with the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review ordered Diaz removed from the U.S. Sept. 19, 2024. The Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed that decision Jan. 13.

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.

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