A Salvadoran national wanted by law enforcement authorities in El Salvador was arrested in Massachusetts last month, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported at the time.
Agents with Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston arrested the unidentified individual April 4, according to an ICE news release. The individual, who was in the U.S. illegally, is wanted on charges of aggravated extortion and participation in a terrorist organization by Salvadoran law enforcement in Guazapa, El Salvador, the release reports. The man is alleged by law enforcement to be connected with the 18th Street Salvadoran criminal gang organization, according to the release.
“Suspected gang members who are not lawfully present in the U.S. are a public safety threat,” ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd Lyons said in the new release. “ERO Boston will continue to arrest and remove individuals who pose a threat to our communities. Our commitment to this is unwavering.”
U.S. Border Patrol encountered the Salvadoran national in June 2014 after he entered the country unlawfully, the release states. He was designated as inadmissible and placed into removal proceedings at that time.
ERO Boston learned the unidentified man was wanted in El Salvador after they were notified of his presence by international law enforcement, and the individual was arrested in Chelsea, Mass. in April. In the course of the removal process, the individual will remain in ICE custody.
Federal immigration judges in the immigration courts, which are run by the Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review, ensure that noncitizens who have been placed in removal proceedings receive legal due process. Separate from the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, EOIR is a division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
These courts' immigration judges base their judgements on the merits of each particular case and removal decisions are carried out by ERO personnel. ERO agents use their expertise as law enforcement officials to make case-by-case enforcement judgments that are professional, responsible, and best guard against the biggest threats to the homeland and the integrity of U.S. immigration laws.
ERO detained 46,396 noncitizens with criminal backgrounds for the fiscal year 2022.
