News Releases and Statements

According to Salvadoran authorities, Leandro Cruz aka Jose Arturo Gonzalez Martinez, was involved with the murders of eight, which prompted law enforcement officials there to list him as one El Salvador’s 100 Most Wanted. Cruz, identified as No. 6, is listed as Martinez or “Gasper” on the Salvadoran Los 100 Mas Buscados list.

Elvis Recinos-Agreda, 39, was removed from the country via an ICE Air Operations Charter flight and transferred into the custody of Salvadoran authorities upon arrival to the capital of San Salvador.

A 30-year-old Mexican national, Juan Eduardo Meraz-Flores, serving his third stint in federal prison for entering the United States illegally, has been charged with murder in connection with the fatal shooting of a Fort Worth auto shop owner in 2007.

ERO deportation officers escorted Jose Martinez, 41, who was removed to San Salvador via an ICE Air Operations Charter flight, and transferred to the custody of El Salvadoran law enforcement authorities.

ICE continues to prioritize its resources to enhance public safety and border security, which is demonstrated by the Fiscal Year 2017 data, which reflects that 92 percent of aliens ICE administratively arrested between January 20, 2017 and the end of FY2017, were removable aliens who had a criminal conviction or a pending criminal charge, were an ICE fugitive, or were an illegal re-entrant.

Of those arrested during the operation, which was spearheaded by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), 88 percent were convicted criminals and 80 percent of them had prior felony convictions.

During this operation which ended Dec. 7, ERO deportation officers made arrests in the following Kentucky cities:  Covington (9), Erlanger (1), Florence (6), Newport (4) and Walton (2).  Of those arrested, 20 are men; two are women.

Criminal convictions of those arrested during the Michigan enforcement actions included, but are not limited to assault on a police officer or probation officer, larceny, assault and battery DUI, operating while intoxicated, domestic violence, disorderly person, failure to stop at the scene of an accident, public indecency, indecent exposure, retail fraud and welfare fraud.

ERO deportation officers escorted Lul Lucaj, 41, who was removed from the United States via a commercial flight. Lucaj was expected to be transferred into the custody Albanian authorities upon arrival in the capital of Tirana, however, during his layover in Rome, Italy, Lucaj was detained by Italian law enforcement authorities after it was determined he is also wanted on criminal charges in Italy.

Holston Doe, a citizen of Liberia, entered the United States legally, on Feb. 25, 2004. Since that time, he has been convicted of several criminal convictions which render him removable from the country.

Mwando Lloyd Pryce, 31, was admitted to the U.S. legally with a nonimmigrant visa in August 2009 with authorization to remain in the United States until Feb. 7, 2010. Pryce failed to depart the United States as required. In August 2015, Interpol issued a Red Notice for Pryce, for crimes committed while he was Police Constable in Jamaica.

Last week’s arrestees (46 men and 9 women) included nationals from 22 countries – Mexico (20); Jamaica (5), Ecuador (4), Honduras (3), Colombia (2), Dominican Republic (2), El Salvador (2), Guatemala (2), Yemen (2), Bangladesh (1), France (1), Guyana (1), Jordan (1), Nigeria (1), Poland (1), Romania (1), Slovakia (1), Spain (1), Trinidad (1), Yemen (1), Serbia (1), Egypt (1).

Alexander Jovel-Guillen, 23, aka “El Crimen,” came into ICE custody Oct. 26, 2016, after apprehension by the U.S. Border Patrol. At that time, he was detained for illegal entry and held for removal from the United States.

Jose Manuel Ohajacao-Ramos, was transferred Nov. 9 to the custody of Guatemalan law enforcement officials by ERO officers in Guatemala City, Guatemala. According to Guatemalan authorities, Ohajacao-Ramos is accused of fatally shooting a store owner in his store in June 1997. Guatemalan law lists the charge as an assassination.

According to court documents, Jose Carlos Hernandez-Lopez, 22, was encountered by the U.S. Border Patrol after a traffic stop on Sept. 6. At that time, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) was operating under an emergency operation due to Hurricane Irma. Based on the emergency operations procedures, the defendant was placed on the Alternates to Detention (ATD) Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP) using a GPS ankle bracelet monitoring system and released from ICE ERO custody with instructions to return back to the ERO Office on Sept. 19.

Jorge Ochoa-Martinez 35, was transferred Nov. 14, to the custody of Mexican law enforcement officials by ERO officers at the Lincoln Juarez Port of Entry in Laredo, Texas. According to Mexican authorities, in 2006, Ochoa-Martinez and other suspects are accused of fatally bludgeoning a man with a screw driver. Authorities said the beating lasted for approximately 20 minutes.

In the course of Operation Secure Streets, ERO deportation officers apprehended 25 individuals, 24 of whom have been convicted of violations concerning the operation of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. One individual, who was arrested for immigration violations, did not have a DUI-related conviction. Each was taken into custody and is currently being detained pending the completion of removal proceedings.

Since January, ICE arrests comprise over 70 percent convicted criminals. Of the remaining individuals not convicted of a crime, approximately 70 percent have either been charged with a crime, are an immigration fugitive, or have been removed from the United States and illegally re-entered.

Ramon Castillo-Muñoz, 50, was placed in ICE custody June 31 and deported from the United States Nov. 2.

On Sept. 8, 2017, Jose Antonio Cordova-Rodriguez, 33, was arrested outside his Chicago residence by special agents and officers with ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Chicago, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force. 

Jorge Luis Malaga-Estrada, 32, was transferred to the custody of Mexican authorities through the Nogales DeConcini Port of Entry by ERO officers with the Phoenix field office.

Retired Lt. Col. Oscar Gomez Cifuentes, 53, was implicated in five killings in Colombia that allegedly occurred while he was the commander of Infantry Battalion 43 Efrain Rojas Acevedo.  These allegations relate to a disputed report stating that five persons were killed by the battalion during a confrontation at a Colombia ranch in November 2007.

Jerald Peter Dsouza, 58, a citizen of India, was arrested by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers after he was released from the Reeves County Detention Complex (RCDC) where he was serving a 10-year sentence for using the internet to induce a minor, who he believed to be a 13-year-old girl, to engage in criminal sexual activity.

Ofracio Perez-Jose, 55, was escorted by ERO deportation officers to Santo Domingo, via a commercial flight, and transferred to the custody of Dominican law enforcement authorities.