A twice-departed gang member was returned to El Salvador from the U.S. to face charges in three homicides thanks to efforts from Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston, ERO El Salvador and the Security Alliance for Fugitive Enforcement (SAFE).
Noe David Alvarez Escamilla, 24, of El Salvador and an 18th Street gang member, was flown from Alexandria, La., to the Monseñor Óscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport in San Salvador Feb. 17, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement news release. The flight was chartered by ICE's Air Operations Unit and, upon arrival, Alvarez Escamilla was taken into custody by El Salvador's Civilian National Police.
"The apprehension and removal of foreign fugitives who have illegally entered the U.S. to avoid criminal prosecution in another country continues to be a high priority for ERO Houston," ERO Houston acting Field Office Director Gabriel Martinez said in the news release. "Our fugitive operations officers are uniquely trained to track down these fugitives so that they can be repatriated to their country of origin to face justice for their alleged crimes."
Alvarez Escamilla illegally entered the U.S. three times to evade charges in the three homicides in El Salvador, according to the news release. The first time, Alvarez Escamilla entered the U.S. illegally on an unknown date, only to be caught by immigration officials near Eagle Pass, Texas, Sept. 11, 2019, and deported the following December.
Alvarez Escamilla re-entered the U.S. May 7, 2020, in Texas, and was immediately caught and expelled to Mexico under Title 42, the release reported. The date of his third reentry, before his removal to El Salvador, is unknown.
The SAFE Program is ICE's fugitive enforcement and information sharing partnership, created in 2012 to target and remove people in the U.S. illegally who were subject to foreign arrest warrants, the release reported. The program operates under the respective host nation's After Actions Review, which creates a task force of foreign law enforcement agencies, immigration authorities, attorneys general and national identification repositories, among other agencies.
The managing After Actions Review ensures each task force member complies with SAFE policies and standards to generate new leads and vet existing fugitive referrals for ERO action, according to the release.
ERO, a directorate of ICE that upholds U.S. immigration law at, within and beyond the nation's borders, targets public safety threats, including convicted criminal noncitizens, gang members and those who illegally re-enter the country after being removed. the release reported.
ERO deportation officers assigned to Interpol also assist in locating foreign fugitives for crimes committed abroad, according to the release. ERO manages all aspects of the immigration enforcement process, including identification and arrest, detention, bond management, supervised release, transportation and removal. ERO also repatriates noncitizens to more than 150 countries worldwide.
