ERO Boston removes fugitive wanted for kidnapping in Mexico
Individual has 2 prior unlawful entries
ERO Boston officers transfer custody of Lopez-Lopez to Mexican officials at the Gateway International Bridge, which connects Brownsville, Texas, to Matamoros, Mexico, on March 22.
BOSTON - Deportation officers with Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston removed Francisco Lopez-Lopez, a 50-year-old unlawfully present Mexican national and foreign fugitive wanted for kidnapping in Mexico on March 22. Lopez-Lopez unlawfully entered the United States on two prior occasions.
ERO officers transported Lopez-Lopez from Massachusetts to the Valley International Airport in Harlingen, Texas, March 22. Later that same day, officers escorted him via ground transportation to the Gateway International Bridge Port of Entry in Brownsville, Texas, where they turned him over to Mexican authorities.
“ERO partners with law enforcement agencies across the globe to reduce these types of crimes,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd Lyons. “Kidnapping is both terrifying for the victims and lucrative for the perpetrators and criminal organizations. Combating these types of crimes is a high priority for us. Every time ERO Boston removes a dangerous, foreign fugitive from the community it increases public safety for us all.”
U.S. Border Patrol first encountered Lopez-Lopez after he unlawfully entered the United States near Laredo, Texas, in 2002 and voluntarily returned to Mexico. In August 2012, Lopez-Lopez became wanted for kidnapping by a criminal court in the Mexican state of Chiapas.
In September 2022, U.S. Border Patrol again encountered Lopez-Lopez, this time near the United States’ northern border in Lewiston, Maine, and issued him a notice to appear before an immigration judge placing him in removal proceedings. He was then transferred to ERO Boston’s custody. After completing a criminal check, ERO Boston confirmed that Lopez-Lopez was wanted for kidnapping by Mexican law enforcement authorities since 2012.
A federal immigration judge with the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review issued a final order for his removal in January.
In fiscal year 2022, ERO arrested 46,396 noncitizens with criminal histories. This group had 198,498 associated charges and convictions, including 21,531 assault offenses; 8,164 sex and sexual assault offenses; 5,554 weapons offenses; 1,501 homicide-related offenses; and 1,114 kidnapping offenses.
As one of ICE’s three operational directorates, ERO is the principal federal law enforcement authority in charge of domestic immigration enforcement. ERO’s mission is to protect the homeland through the arrest and removal of those who undermine the safety of U.S. communities and the integrity of U.S. immigration laws, and its primary areas of focus are interior enforcement operations, management of the agency’s detained and non-detained populations, and repatriation of noncitizens who have received final orders of removal. ERO’s workforce consists of more than 7,700 law enforcement and non-law enforcement support personnel across 25 domestic field offices and 208 locations nationwide, 30 overseas postings, and multiple temporary duty travel assignments along the border.
Members of the public can report crimes or suspicious activity by dialing 866-347-2423 or completing the online tip form.
Learn more about ICE’s mission to increase public safety in your community on Twitter @EROBoston. The ERO Boston field office covers the six states of the New England region.
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