U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Houston field office, with assistance from ERO El Salvador and the Security Alliance for Fugitive Enforcement (SAFE) Task Force, repatriated an unlawfully present Salvadoran fugitive wanted for aggravated homicide and illicit groups (gang membership) May 24.
Ismael Adonay Aguilar Cornejo, a 31-year-old Salvadoran national, was flown from Alexandria, Louisiana, on a charter flight coordinated by ICE’s Air Operations Unit to the Monsenor Oscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport in San Salvador, El Salvador. Upon arrival, he was turned over to officials from El Salvador’s Civilian National Police.
“The United States will not be a safe haven for foreign fugitives, violent criminals and transnational gang members seeking to evade prosecution for crimes they are alleged to have committed in another country,” said ERO Houston Field Office Director Bret A. Bradford. “Our fugitive operations officers work tirelessly, alongside our domestic and international partners, to prevent these dangerous criminal noncitizens from reigning terror on our local communities by quickly apprehending and repatriating them to their country of origin to face justice.”
Aguilar illegally entered the United States on an unknown date and at an unknown location. On Sept. 11, 2012, he was apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol near Hidalgo. Border Patrol officials transferred Aguilar into ICE custody Sept. 13, 2012. On Nov. 30, 2012, Aguilar was released on an order of recognizance pending disposition of his immigration proceedings. Following his release, Aguilar failed to appear for his immigration proceedings and absconded from authorities. On Feb. 5, 2014, an immigration judge with the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review ordered Aguilar removed from the United States to El Salvador in absentia.
On Oct. 25, 2023, ERO Houston fugitive operations officers successfully located and arrested Aguilar in southeast Houston. Following his arrest, ERO Houston confirmed with the Salvadoran government that Aguilar was wanted for aggravated homicide and illicit groups. On Nov. 20, 2023, Aguilar filed a motion to reopen his immigration case. However, that motion was denied by an immigration judge on Dec. 5, 2023. Aguilar subsequently appealed the immigration judge’s decision with the Board of Immigration Appeals on Jan. 17, 2024. On April 10, the Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed Aguilar’s appeal and he was removed by ICE officers to El Salvador May 24.
