ICE Dallas officers deport Salvadoran woman wanted for murders

DALLAS — A Salvadoran woman, who is wanted in her home country for aggravated murder and other crimes, was deported Wednesday and turned over to law enforcement authorities.

This deportation was conducted by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in Dallas, with the assistance of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Border Patrol.

Margarita Del Carmen Orellana Rivas, 25, was removed to El Salvador Nov. 26 via government charter flight from Dallas and was turned over to officials from El Salvador's Policia Nacional Civil (PNC).  Orellana Rivas is an associate of the violent street gang MS-13.  In addition to aggravated murder, she's also wanted for “crimes of solicitation and conspiracy in the crime of aggravated murder, aggravated murder as co-conspirator, and illegal gatherings.”

Orellana-Rivas assisted MS-13 gang members with the murders of Patricia Beatriz Avalos-Caceres, Orlando Moran-Alvarado and Luis Osmaro Menjivar-Landaverde.  Orellana-Rivas lured Avalos-Caceres and her baby to a predetermined location where Avalos-Caceres was beaten and ultimately strangled to death. Avalos-Caceres was targeted after serving as a witness in a case against fellow gang members. Her baby was unharmed.

In a separate incident, Moran Alvarado and Menjivar-Landaverde were also lured by Orellana-Rivas and ultimately shot to death by MS-13 gang members. In both cases, Orellana-Rivas plotted with the killers.

Orellana entered the United States near Hidalgo, Texas, Aug. 15, 2014 without being admitted or paroled. Border Patrol agents arrested Orellana shortly after she entered the United States. They identified Orellana as a citizen of El Salvador who has an outstanding warrant of arrest for aggravated murder as an accomplice and illegal gatherings in El Salvador based on a warrant from a   Salvadoran court issued July 19, 2012. Border Patrol agents also discovered that Orellana is a member of the MS-13 street gang.

On Oct. 21, 2014, a federal immigration judge in Dallas, Texas, ordered Orellana deported to El Salvador.  Orellana waived her right to appeal this decision.

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 Salvadoran criminal suspects who have fled to the United States to avoid prosecution. ICE officers work closely with the PNC, the Salvadoran National Interpol Office and Salvadoran immigration as part of this effort.

In fiscal year 2014, ICE returned 163 criminals with active PNC arrest warrants to El Salvador via ICE removal flights. Many of those arrested were accused of homicide-related charges or other violent crimes.

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.

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 Operations, foreign consular offices in the United States, and Interpol to identify foreign fugitives illegally present in the country.