ICE removes man wanted by El Salvadoran authorities
WASHINGTON – An El Salvadoran man was removed from the United States Friday by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
Rafael Alexander Henriquez, a 41-year-old citizen of El Salvador, illegally entered the United States at an unknown location and date. ERO officers arrested him in September in Richmond, Virginia, and issued him a notice to appear in immigration court. Interpol issued a Red Notice on behalf of the Policia Nacional Civil (PNC) in October for Henriquez’s arrest on charges of aggravated robbery, illegal association and reckless driving. In January, an immigration judge ordered Henriquez removed from the United States to El Salvador.
Henriquez departed Dallas Love Field Airport in Texas on an ICE Air Operations charter flight and arrived at San Salvador International Airport in El Salvador where he was transferred to the custody of the PNC.
“Our officers dutifully uphold U.S. immigration laws,” said Yvonne Evans, field office director for ERO Washington, D.C. “We will not permit criminals wanted abroad to seek refuge in the United States.”
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 U.S. immigration law.
In just three years, through the SAFE Initiative, ERO has removed more than 600 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 PNC.
SAFE aligns with ERO’s public safety priorities and eliminates the need for formal extradition requests.
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