South Texas ICE officers deport Salvadoran fugitive wanted for aggravated homicide
Individual is accused of killing a Salvadoran police officer and his daughter
SAN ANTONIO — An immigration fugitive from El Salvador, who is wanted in his home country for aggravated homicide, was deported Thursday by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
Ignacio Leonel Campos-Chamagua, 19, was flown to El Salvador on Nov. 1 on a charter flight coordinated by ICE’s Air Operations Unit. Upon arrival, Campos-Chamagua was turned over to officials from El Salvador’s Civilian National Police (PNC).
According to Salvadoran authorities, Campos-Chamagua is the subject of an Interpol Red Notice for two alleged 2017 homicides and other illicit crimes. On Nov. 17, 2017 Campos-Chamagua and his co-conspirator were arrested in an abandoned home located in the San Carlos neighborhood in Santa Maria, Usulutan, El Salvador. Both are accused of the alleged death of a Salvadoran police officer and his daughter. In addition to the homicide charges, both are also facing charges for illicit crimes related to possession of a firearm. At the time of their arrest, police discovered a 12-gauge shotgun.
"Identifying and removing foreign fugitives from the United States is an ICE priority,” said Daniel Bible, field office director of ERO San Antonio. "The cooperation between the United States and Salvadoran governments resulted in this foreign fugitive being safely returned to his home country where he will stand trial for his alleged crimes.”
Campos-Chamagua was encountered Jan. 5 by immigration officials near the Rio Grande Valley, Texas, after he illegally crossed the border into the United States. On Sept. 10, an immigration judge issued him a final order of removal.
The ICE ERO El Salvador Office and its Security Alliance for Fugitive Enforcement (SAFE) taskforce provided information to the local ERO field offices to facilitate this individual’s arrest.
ICE removed or returned 226,119 aliens in fiscal year 2017. The proportion of FY17 removals resulting from ICE arrests increased by nearly 10 percent over the previous fiscal year, and the number of ICE interior removals in FY17 increased by over 15,000 from FY16.
ICE is focused on removing public safety threats, such as convicted criminal aliens and gang members, as well as individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws, including those who illegally re-entered the country after being removed and immigration fugitives ordered removed by federal immigration judges.
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