ICE Dallas officers deport Honduran man wanted for murder
DALLAS — A Honduran man was deported Monday and turned over to law enforcement authorities based on an outstanding warrant for murder.
This deportation was conducted by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in Dallas.
Wilson Lopez-Rodriguez, 32, aka Carlos Alberto Lopez-Rodriguez, was removed to Honduras after being driven from Dallas to Houston, Texas, April 27. From Houston, he was flown to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, by ICE Air Operations, and then turned over to Honduran officials the same day.
“By removing criminal aliens to their countries of origin, ICE also removes the threat they pose to public safety in local U.S. communities,” said Simona L. Flores, field office director of ERO Dallas. “At the same time, these removals ensure that aliens who commit crimes abroad do not use the United States as a safe haven from justice in their home countries.”
Lopez-Rodriguez was first apprehended May 20, 2003 by agents with U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Border Patrol as he illegally entered the United States. On June 18, 2003, an immigration judge in Dallas, Texas, ordered him removed to Honduras. Lopez-Rodriguez was deported July 15, 2003, and he illegally re-entered the United States in 2010, which is a felony.
The Criminal Court Judicial Section of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, issued an arrest warrant April 11, 2014 for Lopez-Rodriguez charging him with murder.
Lopez-Rodriguez was convicted of multiple misdemeanors in 2014, and on Nov. 20, 2014, ERO Dallas placed an immigration detainer on him with Dallas County Jail.
On March 23, 2015, the Dallas County Jail turned over Lopez-Rodriguez to ERO Dallas custody. He was deported and turned over to Honduran authorities April 27.
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.
In fiscal year 2014, ERO removed 315,943 individuals from the United States. In addition to convicted criminals, the agency's enforcement priorities include those apprehended while attempting to unlawfully enter the United States, illegal re-entrants — individuals who returned to the United States after being previously removed by ICE — and immigration fugitives. In fiscal year 2014, 98 percent of ICE removals met these priorities.
ICE Air History:
ICE routinely uses special air charters to transport aliens who have final orders of removal from an immigration judge. Staffed by ICE ERO Air Operations officers, these air charters enable the agency to repatriate large groups of deportees in an efficient, expeditious and humane manner.
This most recent repatriation is another example of expanded bi-national cooperation to identify, arrest and repatriate Honduran criminal suspects who have fled to the United States to avoid prosecution. ICE officers work closely with Honduran law enforcement as part of this effort.
Since 2006, ICE Air Operations has supported ERO by providing mass air transportation and removal coordination services to ERO field offices nationwide. Staffed by ERO officers, these air charters enable the agency to repatriate large groups of deportees in an efficient, expeditious and humane manner.
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