ICE removes Honduran man wanted for homicide in his home country
NEW ORLEANS – A Honduran man unlawfully present in the United States, who is wanted in his home country on a murder charge, was removed from the United States Wednesday by deportation officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
Jose Daniel Garza-Cardona, 32, is wanted in his home country for homicide pursuant to a November 2009 warrant issued by a Honduran judge.
ERO Salt Lake City deportation officers transferred Garza from the Florence Detention Center, Florence, Arizona, to Mesa, Arizona, where Garza was then removed Wednesday via an ICE Air operations flight to La Lima, Honduras. Upon arrival, Garza was transferred into Honduran custody.
Garza was initially arrested by ERO New Orleans in May 2015 after he was located in the New Orleans area. Garza was subsequently indicted in the Eastern District of Louisiana on a felony charge of being an alien in possession of a firearm after an investigation by ICE Homeland Security Investigations; he pleaded guilty in September 2015. After completing his federal prison sentence, Garza was taken into custody by ERO Salt Lake City Aug. 12 upon his release from the Federal Correctional Institution in Herlong, California.
Garza was ordered removed from the United States by a federal immigration judge Oct. 26
"U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will continue to focus its removal resources on violent criminals and other high-priority aliens who pose the greatest threat to our communities," said ERO Salt Lake City Acting Field Office Director Todd McWhorter.
Since Oct. 1, 2009, ERO has removed more than 1,789 foreign fugitives from the United States who were sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder. ERO works with the ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Office of International Operations, foreign consular offices in the United States, and Interpol to identify foreign fugitives illegally present in the United States. Members of the public who have information about foreign fugitives are urged to contact ICE by calling the ICE tip line at 1 (866) 347-2423 or internationally at 001-1802-872-6199. They can also file a tip online by completing ICE’s online tip form.
ERO coordinates the removal of criminals, foreign fugitives and others ordered deported. Last year alone, ERO removed 235,413 individuals from the United States. ICE is focused on smart and effective immigration enforcement that prioritizes its resources based on those who pose the biggest threat to national security, border security and public safety. ICE’s civil enforcement efforts are based on priorities set by the Secretary of Homeland Security in November 2014.
Updated: