ICE Dallas officers remove 3-time deported Salvadoran national

DALLAS — A Salvadoran national, who had previously been deported three times, was deported again 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.

German Ardon-Zavala, 57, was removed to El Salvador Oct. 29 via government charter flight from Dallas and was turned over to officials from El Salvador’s Policia Nacional Civil (PNC).

“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.”

Deportation History:

Zavala was first arrested by U.S. Border Patrol in October 1985 when he tried to illegally enter the United States. A federal immigration judge ordered his deportation the following month; and he was first deported Nov. 16, 1985.

After illegally re-entering the United States, Zavala was convicted of various misdemeanor crimes between 2006 and 2008. In March 2008, an immigration judge again ordered his deportation, and he was removed a second time May 5, 2008.

Zavala again illegally re-entered the United States, and he was convicted in Los Angeles of burglary and grand theft, and sentenced to two years in prison Feb. 2, 2011. He entered ICE custody in February 2012 after his release from prison, and was deported a third time March 14, 2012.

Border Patrol agents arrested Zavala Oct. 25, 2012 when he again tried to illegally re-enter the United States. He was federally prosecuted for illegally re-entering the United States after having been deported. He was convicted, and sentenced to two years in federal prison Jan. 9, 2014. Zavala entered ICE custody July 22, 2014 after he was released from prison. On Sept. 24, 2014, an immigration judge in Dallas again ordered his removal to El Salvador. He was deported a fourth time by ICE Air Operations Oct. 29, 2014.

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 2013, ICE returned 160 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 Affairs, foreign consular offices in the United States, and Interpol to identify foreign fugitives illegally present in the country.