ICE El Paso officers remove 2 homicide suspects to Mexico
1 of the 2 fugitives was wanted for the murder of 2 police officers in Sinaloa, Mexico
EL PASO, Texas — Two Mexican men, who are wanted in the state of Sinaloa on separate homicide charges, were deported Monday by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in El Paso.
Clemente Chavez-Cruz, 68, and Manuel Orpinela-Servin, 47, were handed over to Mexican law enforcement officials at El Paso’s Stanton Street Bridge Port of Entry.
An arrest warrant for Chavez-Cruz was issued out of Sinaloa, Mexico, Dec. 19, 1999 for aggravated homicide. According to Mexican court documents, Chavez-Cruz allegedly fatally shot Felipe Alonso Salman Morales in 1998 during an altercation.
In the late 1990s, Chavez-Cruz illegally entered the United States near Douglas, Arizona. ERO officers arrested him May 21, 2014 in Denver. On June 3, 2014, the Attorney General of Mexico requested ERO’s assistance in turning over Chavez-Cruz to Mexican law enforcement officials at the time of his removal from the country.
In a separate case, on June 10, 2004, authorities in Sinaloa, Mexico, issued an arrest warrant for Orpinela-Servin for the aggravated homicide of two police officers, and the attempted murder of two others. Orpinela-Servin has several aliases, among them Porfirio “El Porfi” Leyva Avalos, which is the name that appears on Mexican court documents that charge him with aggravated homicide.
Orpinela-Servin, illegally entered the United States Aug. 1, 1991, near San Ysidro, California. He was deported in June 1992 following a drug conviction. In March 2004, he illegally re-entered the United States near Nogales, Arizona.
On Jan. 27, 2006, he was convicted in federal court for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, an offense for which he was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.
On Feb. 10, 2015, agents with ERO Dallas encountered Orpinela-Servin at a correctional facility in Post, Texas. On Feb. 18, the Attorney General of Mexico requested ERO’s assistance in turning him over to Mexican law enforcement officials at the time of his removal from the United States.
“ICE agents continue to effectively identify incarcerated foreign-born criminal aliens as well as those who have assimilated into society and pose a threat to public safety,” said Adrian P. Macias, field office director for ERO El Paso. “Working closely with our Mexican counterparts, we also continue to remove them from our country.”
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.
In fiscal year 2014, ICE conducted 315,943 removals nationwide. More than 85 percent of ICE's total removals had been previously convicted of a crime.
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.
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