ICE Chicago office deports 2 Mexican nationals wanted for crimes in Mexico

CHICAGO — Two Mexican nationals wanted for separate crimes committed in Mexico were deported Friday and turned over to Mexican law enforcement authorities to face criminal charges.

These deportations were conducted by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in Chicago.

Armando Ramirez-Vazquez, 32, and Jesus Gloria-Arreaga, 47, were removed to Mexico May 2 via government charter flight from Chicago and turned over to the custody of the Mexican Attorney General's Office.

Ramirez-Vazquez is wanted in Mexico for homicide and robbery based on a warrant issued in the Mexican state of Michoacán in 2000.

Ramirez-Vazquez entered the United States illegally on an unknown date. He has criminal convictions for the following crimes committed in the United States: retail theft, driving under the influence (DUI) and aggravated DUI. ERO officers encountered Ramirez-Vazquez in November 2012 in the Illinois Department of Corrections while he was serving a three-year sentence for DUI. ERO officers lodged a detainer against him. Ramirez-Vazquez was ordered deported by a federal immigration judge Nov. 27, 2013 while still incarcerated. On March 21, 2014 he was remanded to ICE custody after he completed his sentence.

Gloria-Arreaga is wanted in Mexico for illegally possessing a firearm intended for exclusive military use. An arrest warrant was issued for him in 2009 in the Mexican state of Coahuila.

Gloria-Arreaga became a U.S. permanent resident in 1990. He was convicted of drug trafficking in Texas in 2001 and sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison. As an aggravated felon, he was stripped of his U.S. permanent-resident status and deported to Mexico in March 2007 after he completed his prison sentence.

On Jan. 25, 2009 – five days before he was scheduled to appear in court on the illegal military firearms charge in Mexico – Gloria-Arreaga fled Mexico and attempted to enter the United States using his revoked permanent-resident identification card. Records checks conducted at the border revealed his prior deportation. He was subsequently convicted of illegal re-entry after deportation and sentenced to 46 months in prison. ERO officers encountered Gloria-Arreaga at the U.S. Penitentiary in Allenwood, Pennsylvania, and placed a detainer on him. During his incarceration, Mexican authorities notified ERO of the outstanding arrest warrant. He was released to ICE custody April 11 from the Bureau of Prisons in Terre Haute, Indiana.

"These cases underscore the vital public safety benefit ICE provides when we screen inmates at our nation's jails and prisons," said Ricardo Wong, field office director for ERO Chicago. "International fugitives who think they can outrun the law should take notice. We will continue to work closely with our foreign counterparts to promote public safety and hold criminals accountable."

Since Oct. 1, 2009, ERO has removed more than 720 foreign fugitives from the United States who were being sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder. ERO works with ICE's Office of International Affairs, foreign consular offices in the United States, and Interpol to identify foreign fugitives illegally present in the country.