ICE deports man wanted for aggravated murder in El Salvador

HOUSTON — An El Salvador man, wanted in his country for aggravated murder, was deported and turned over to officials of El Salvador Nov. 9 by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

Edgardo Alfonso Sanchez-Ruiz, 37, was encountered July 25 by officers at the Bellaire Police Department in Texas. While in Bellaire PD custody, the Secure Communities Command Center determined that Sanchez-Ruiz was in the country illegally and he was released into ERO custody July 27.

During ERO processing in Houston, an Interpol fugitive warrant revealed that Sanchez-Ruiz was wanted by El Salvadoran officials for aggravated murder. Sanchez-Ruiz was subsequently ordered removed from the U.S. by an immigration judge Oct. 10.

"This removal is the positive result of ICE's thorough screening of jails and prisons throughout the nation," said David W. Jennings, field office director for ERO Houston. "This case is representative of the hard work and service by ERO and our law enforcement partners to ensure public safety."

ERO is focused on smart, effective immigration enforcement that targets serious criminal aliens who present the greatest risk to the security of our communities, such as those charged with or convicted of homicide, rape, robbery, kidnapping, major drug offenses and threats to national security. ERO also prioritizes the arrest and removal of those who game the immigration system including immigration fugitives or those criminal aliens who have been previously deported and illegally re-entered the country.

This international fugitive was removed on a charter flight via the ERO Air Operations (IAO) Unit. Since 2006, the IAO Unit, headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., 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 500 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.