ICE removes Guatemalan man charged with killing his ex-wife, unborn child

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala — A Guatemalan man charged with killing his ex-wife and their unborn child was removed to Guatemala May 8 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers in Los Angeles, California. 

According to police reports, on May 17, 2003, Edwin Adolfo Solorzano Juarez, 38, allegedly killed his 20-year-old ex-wife and their unborn child in Guatemala. Investigators concluded that his ex-wife died as a result of blunt force trauma to the neck and head region.

The victim’s brother told police his sister planned to meet Solorzano Juarez to discuss their relationship and pregnancy. He also stated she had told Solorzano Juarez she was having his child. Several witnesses corroborated that statement having seen both Solorzano Juarez and his ex-wife together near the area where her body was discovered. As a result of the investigation by the Guatemalan Policia Nacional Civil, a warrant for Solorzano Juarez’s arrest was issued May 22, 2013.

Solorzano Juarez illegally entered the United States without inspection near Nogales, Arizona, July 10, 2013. ERO officers subsequently arrested him June 26, 2014, placing him into removal proceedings. On Nov. 24, 2014, an immigration judge found him ineligible for immigration relief and ordered him removed from the United States.

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.