Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers arrested the 300th foreign fugitive who has been apprehended by the agency since October 2014, which marked the start of fiscal year 2015.
Today’s announcement by ICE came on the heels of ICE’s announcement last week that 50 fugitives — some of whom are really bad actors — who’d been sought for their roles in known or suspected human rights violations were arrested ICE during a nationwide dragnet.
“Arresting and removing these kinds of fugitives is the lifeblood of what our officers do every day,” said Executive Associate Director of ICE’s Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations Tom Homan. “Protecting the American people by taking dangerous criminal aliens off our streets has been and always will be our first priority.”
ICE said, "The 300th capture was Elmer Francisco Reyes, a 30-year-old Honduran man, wanted on a warrant for aggravated sexual assault by Honduran law enforcement authorities who issued a warrant for his arrest in August 2010."
According to ICE, "Reyes entered the United States illegally and was removed to Honduras initially in May 2009. Reyes re-entered the US and was re-arrested in Miami Beach, Florida in September 2014. He was issued a reinstated order of deportation and was referred for criminal prosecution."
In February 2015, the US District Court in the Southern District of Florida convicted Reyes of illegal re-entry and sentenced him to four months imprisonment and three years supervised release. After sentencing, Reyes was transferred to the custody of Miami Dade Corrections pursuant to an outstanding armed robbery charge. Reyes was released by Miami Dade Corrections in April 2015.
On July 17, 2015, the ERO Miami Field Office Fugitive Operations Group along with the Miami Beach Police Department and the US Marshals Fugitive Task Force tracked Reyes to a Miami Beach, Florida residence where he was arrested. Reyes was removed to Honduras on July 31, 2015.
ICE said, "The majority of this Fiscal Year’s 300 arrests took place in California, Florida and Texas," and that the "majority are violent criminals who had been convicted of or are wanted for crimes, which include 101 for murder, 15 for sexual offenses, 13 for assault, ten for kidnapping and 13 for robbery.
Since October. 1, 2009, ICE stated ERO has removed more than 1,150 foreign fugitives from the United States who were sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder. ERO works with HSI’s Office of International Operations, foreign consular offices in the United States, and Interpol to identify foreign fugitives illegally present in the United States.
The ICE National Criminal Analysis and Targeting Center (NCATC) provides critical investigative support for daily arrest efforts, including criminal and intelligence analysis from a variety of sources. The NCATC provides comprehensive analytical support to aid the at-large enforcement efforts of all ICE components.
ICE credited the combined efforts of the National Central Bureau-Interpol Washington, US Marshals Service, Department of State Diplomatic Security Service, US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Customs and Border Protection and the Miami Dade Police Department.
Members of the public who have information about foreign fugitives are urged to contact ICE by calling the toll-free 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.
