ICE, El Salvador sign memorandum of cooperation

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and El Salvador's Civilian National Police (PNC) signed a memorandum of cooperation (MOC) Wednesday to enhance their ability to share immigration and criminal history record information concerning Salvadoran nationals who are being repatriated from the United States.

The signing ceremony took place at PNC headquarters in El Salvador. Timothy S. Robbins, the deputy executive associate director for ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations, signed on behalf of ICE, and Director General Rigoberto Pleités Sandoval signed on behalf of El Salvador's PNC.

"The signing of this MOC is a major step in our broader goal of information sharing and building trusted relationships," said Robbins. "Sharing criminal history information will allow both ICE and the PNC to more effectively support law enforcement actions concerning El Salvadoran citizens."

"This MOC will undoubtedly strengthen the search for individuals who commit crimes outside our borders, as well as individuals who are wanted by Salvadoran justice," said Pleités Sandoval.

With the signing of the MOC – the first of its kind in the region – the two countries can share felony conviction records with one another. The MOC excludes sharing juvenile convictions. It is designed to facilitate El Salvador's efforts to categorize and monitor repatriated criminals for domestic purposes.

Through ICE's Office of International Affairs and the State Department, HSI has 67 attaché offices in 48 countries around the world. HSI special agents work closely with foreign law enforcement agencies and through a robust network of specialized, vetted units known as Transnational Criminal Investigative Units. Additionally, HSI brings personnel from host countries to the United States to train at the Department of Homeland Security Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia.