ICE deports man wanted for sexual assault of a minor in El Salvador

WASHINGTON — A Salvadoran man living in Richmond, Va., wanted in El Salvador for the aggravated sexual assault of a minor and sexual harassment, was arrested by officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in July. He was removed to El Salvador Friday where he was turned over to Salvadoran police.

Carlos Humberto Castaneda-Mendoza, 40, entered the U.S. illegally in August 2010. In November 2010, Interpol issued a red notice for the warrant in El Salvador. Castaneda had been arrested in Atlanta on two occasions but never held long enough for ICE to place a detainer on him. In July, ERO Washington received notice of Castaneda's whereabouts in the Richmond area and arrested him that same day.

"This arrest and removal reinforces that one cannot come to the U.S. to escape from their actions in their home country," said M. Yvonne Evans, field office director for ERO Washington. "Dangerous people such as Mr. Castaneda are hiding in plain sight within our communities and we are working hard to keep our communities safe from these individuals."

Castaneda's deportation is another example of expanded bi-national cooperation to identify, arrest and repatriate Salvadoran criminal suspects who have fled to the United States to avoid prosecution. ICE officers work closely with the Policía Nacional Civil (PNC), the Salvadoran National Interpol Office and Salvadoran immigration as part of this effort. ICE's Office of the Chief Counsel Arlington litigated the administrative removal proceedings leading to the immigration judge's decision to remove Castaneda to El Salvador.

In the first nine months of fiscal year 2013, the PNC executed more than 146 criminal arrest warrants with fugitives being returned to El Salvador aboard ICE removal flights. Many of those arrests involved homicide-related charges or other violent crimes.

ERO enforces the nation's immigration laws by identifying and arresting removable aliens, and by detaining and removing priority aliens from the United States. ERO prioritizes the arrest and removal of convicted criminal aliens, those aliens who pose a threat to national security, immigration fugitives and recent border entrants.