News Releases and Statements

Hector Banegas Hernandez departed the U.S. Thursday from Louisiana and was turned over to Honduran law enforcement authorities upon his arrival in Honduras.

A Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang member wanted for violent crimes in El Salvador was removed from the U.S. Friday by deportation officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

Fourteen men and two women were arrested during the enforcement actions. With the exception of a Congolese man, all of those arrested were nationals of Mexico. Enforcement activities took place primarily in Berrien, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, and Van Buren counties.

Four of the individuals arrested during this operation will face federal criminal prosecution for illegal re-entry after deportation. The arrestees who are not being federally prosecuted will be processed administratively for removal from the United States. Those who have outstanding orders of removal, or who returned to the United States illegally after being deported, are subject to immediate removal from the country. The remaining individuals are in ICE custody awaiting a hearing before an immigration judge, or pending travel arrangements for removal in the near future.

ERO deportation officers escorted Anthony Bhupdeo, 25, who was removed from the United States via a commercial flight. Bhupdeo was transferred into the custody of Guyanese law enforcement authorities upon arrival in Georgetown.

Elmer Edrulfo Rios-Mancia, 37, is wanted in El Salvador for aggravated homicide and membership to an illicit group.

Aliens arrested during this operation are from the following countries:  Brazil (1), El Salvador (3), Guatemala (6), Honduras (1), Mexico (7), Romania (1) and Sierra Leone (1).

During this operation, ERO deportation officers made arrests in the following Indiana cities: Elkhart (6), Fort Wayne (1), and South Bend (2). Eight men and one woman were arrested ranging in age from 26 to 59.

During the operation, ICE’s ERO arrested 232 individuals for violating U.S. immigration laws. Of those arrested, 180 were either convicted criminals, had been issued a final order of removal and failed to depart the United States, or had been previously removed from the United States and returned illegally.

During this operation, ERO deportation officers made arrests in the following Texas cities and towns:  Austin (45), San Antonio (41), Rio Grande Valley (37), Laredo (15) and Waco (7).

Gonzalo “El Chano” Juarez-Limon, 48, was turned over to Mexican authorities at the international boundary on top of El Paso’s Stanton International Bridge. He is wanted in Mexico for the 1996 murder of Manuel Monrroy Islas, according to a Mexican arrest warrant.

Raul Ramos-Guido, 32, was a convicted criminal alien illegally residing in the U.S. and had previously been deported to El Salvador in January 2014.

On Feb. 14, following a three-day jury trial, Conrado Depaz Arellano, 48, illegally residing in Carthage, Texas, was found guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.  Additionally, on Feb. 12, 2018, Arellano pleaded guilty to being illegally in the United States after having been deported.

According to the criminal complaint, Manuel Orrego-Zavala, aka Manuel Orrego-Savala, 37, was arrested Feb. 4, 2018, by law enforcement in Indianapolis for being involved in a fatal accident on Interstate Highway 70.

Gilberto Ramos-Prado, 46, was transferred to the custody of representatives from Mexico’s Procuraduria General de la Republica (PGR) and Mexican immigration officials by ERO officers at the Nogales DeConcini Port of Entry. Gilberto Ramos-Prado most recently came into ICE custody Jan. 12, after serving four months in federal prison for an illegal re-entry conviction.

Jhon Hincapie-Ramirez, 57, was escorted by ERO officers via an ICE Air Operations charter flight and turned over to Colombian law enforcement authorities. In February 2015, Hincapie-Ramirez was charged in U.S. federal court with conspiracy to launder money.

At its Thursday meeting, members of the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail (ACRJ) Board voted to uphold current jail policy to notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) up to 48 hours in advance of an alien’s release from local custody.

Aliens arrested during this operation are from the following countries:  Mexico (55), Guatemala (10), El Salvador (6), Honduras (4) Bangladesh (3), Cameroon (1) Jordan (1), Laos (1), Liberia (1), Nigeria (1), Panama (1), Philippines (1) and Zimbabwe (1).

Oscar Arturo Alfaro-Romero, a 35-year-old alien fugitive with multiple prior removals, was arrested by ICE May 10, 2017. He was processed as an alien previously removed, and qualified for removal under reinstatement. ICE was subsequently notified that Alfaro-Romero was wanted for crimes in El Salvador.

ERO deportation officers escorted Fode Youssouf Barro, 29, who was removed from the United States via a commercial flight. Barro was transferred into the custody of French law enforcement authorities upon arrival in Paris.

Criminal convictions of those arrested included: felony grand larceny, firearms possession, drug possession, child endangerment, abuse, driving under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, and forgery.

On Jan. 28, 2016, Jovo Asentic, 65, was ordered removed by a federal immigration judge after he failed to disclose his service in the Army of Republika Srpska (the Bosnian Serb Army, abbreviated VRS) during the 1992-1995 Bosnian conflict.  He purposely failed to disclose his VRS service in his U.S. immigration applications.

During this operation, ERO deportation officers made arrests in the following Illinois cities and towns: Chicago (9), Cicero (4), Hoffman Estates (1), Palatine (4), Park City (1), Rolling Meadows (2) and Round Lake Beach (1). All those arrested were men between the ages of 20 and 53.

The 11-count superseding indictment alleges that defendants – members and associates of the MS-13 – conspired to commit extortion through the use of threatened or actual force, violence or fear to intimidate their victims into paying money to the defendants and their co-conspirators.

Hebert Veloza Garcia, 50, a former leader of Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia or AUC, was deported via ICE Air Operations under escort by ERO deportation officers. Veloza Garcia was transferred into ERO custody from the Bureau of Prisons in October 2016, after serving more than eight years in federal prison. He is wanted by Colombian officials for forced displacement and threats. Veloza admitted in Colombian court that he ordered or personally participated in the killing of dozens while leading the AUC.