SAN ANTONIO — An immigration fugitive and
MS-13 gang member from El Salvador, who is wanted in his home country for
aggravated homicide, was deported Thursday by officers with U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
Santos Mauricio Urquilla Rodriguez, 25, was flown to El
Salvador Oct. 11 on a charter flight coordinated by ICE’s Air Operations (IAO)
Unit. Upon arrival, Urquilla Rodriguez was turned over to officials from El
Salvador’s Civilian National Police (PNC).
According to Salvadoran authorities, Urquilla Rodriguez is the
subject of an Interpol
Red Notice and is wanted for various violent crimes ranging from aggravated homicide to his membership with a
terrorist organization. Authorities say that Urquilla Rodriguez,
along with other alleged MS-13 gang members, lured an associate of theirs to
discuss a monetary debt. During this meeting, it is alleged that the gang
members used machetes to commit the murder.
"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 Daniel Bible, field office
director of ERO San Antonio. "This removal ensures that this individual
will face justice for the allegations against him."
Urquilla
Rodriguez was encountered Jan. 4 by U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) near Hidalgo, Texas, after he illegally crossed the border
into the United States. On Jan. 5, he was transferred to the Port Isabel
Detention Center in Los Fresnos, Texas. On April 9, an immigration judge issued
him a final order of removal. On Apr. 23,
Urquilla Rodriguez filed an appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA).
On Sept. 10, the BIA dismissed Urquilla Rodriguez’s case and affirmed the
judge’s decision to deport him back to El Salvador.
The ICE ERO El Salvador Office and its Security Alliance
for Fugitive Enforcement (SAFE) taskforce provided information to the
local ERO field offices to facilitate this individual’s arrest.
ICE removed or returned 226,119
aliens in fiscal year 2017. The proportion of FY17 removals resulting from ICE
arrests increased by nearly ten percent over the previous fiscal year, and the
number of ICE interior removals in FY17 increased by over 15,000 from FY16.
ICE is focused on removing public safety threats, such as convicted
criminal aliens and gang members, as well as individuals who have violated our
nation’s immigration laws, including those who illegally re-entered the country
after being removed and immigration fugitives ordered removed by federal
immigration judges.
# ICE #
