ICE Newark deports MS-13 gang member wanted in El Salvador for extortion
NEWARK — A Salvadoran man, a member of the violent street gang MS-13, and is wanted on an Interpol Red Notice for extortion in his home country, was removed from the United States on Friday by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Newark and turned over to law enforcement officials in El Salvador.
Wilmer Alexander Amaya Alas, 23, departed from Louisiana after leaving Newark Liberty International Airport on Thursday. On Oct. 14, 2014, Amaya Alas was ordered removed from the country by an immigration judge. He appealed the immigration judge’s decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), and on Jan. 2, 2015, the BIA dismissed the appeal, making the order of removal final.
“Amaya Alas was a high priority for removal and a public safety threat to our communities,” said John Tsoukaris, field office director of ERO Newark. “Criminals like Amaya Alas, who believe they can come to the United States, hiding from facing justice in their home country, will be held accountable for their crimes and removed from the United States.”
ERO officers removed Amaya Alas via a charter flight coordinated by ICE Air Operations (IAO) Unit to San Salvador International Airport and turned him over to El Salvadoran National Police. He will now face the extortion charge.
Agencies participating in this case include ICE ERO New Orleans, ICE Assistant Attaché for Removals – El Salvador; and the El Salvadoran National Police.
This removal was part of ERO’s Security Alliance for Fugitive Enforcement (SAFE) Initiative. The SAFE Initiative is geared toward the identification of foreign fugitives who are wanted abroad and removable under US immigration law.
In just three years, through the SAFE Initiative, ERO has removed more than 500 criminal fugitives to El Salvador. Those removed as part of the SAFE Initiative have been deemed ineligible to remain in the United States and were all wanted by the Policia Nacional Civil (PNC), El Salvador’s national police.
In fiscal year 2014, ERO removed 315,943 individuals from the United States. 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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