ERO Philadelphia removed Jose Benedicto Mojica Aldana to El Salvador on a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Air Operations charter aircraft June 9. Mojica is a citizen of El Salvador and confirmed MS-13 gang member with a final order of removal who is wanted by law enforcement authorities in El Salvador for aggravated murder.
“Jose Mojica is a wanted fugitive and member of the notorious street gang MS-13. He is exactly the type of noncitizen that ERO works every day to remove from our country,” said ERO Philadelphia Field Office Director Cammilla Wamsley. “Enforcement and Removal Operations exists to remove dangerous noncitizens who flout our laws and threaten the safety of the American public.”
Mojica entered the United States on an unknown date and at an unknown location without inspection or parole by an immigration official.
ERO Baltimore arrested Mojica near his residence in Annapolis, Maryland, on June 15, 2022, and transferred him to the Dorchester County Detention Center in Cambridge, Maryland.
ERO Baltimore served Mojica a notice to appear on June 19, 2022, charging him with inadmissibility. On Aug. 19, 2022, ERO Baltimore transferred Mojica to the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania.
In December 2022, an immigration judge ordered Mojica removed from the United States to El Salvador. Mojica reserved his right to appeal and filed an appeal with the Board of Immigration Appeals on Jan. 11, 2023.
ERO Philadelphia transferred Mojica to the Pike County Prison in Hawley, Pennsylvania, on April 17, 2023. On April 27, 2023, the Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed his appeal and his removal order became final.
As one of ICE’s three operational directorates, ERO is the principal federal law enforcement authority in charge of domestic immigration enforcement. ERO’s mission is to protect the homeland through the arrest and removal of those who undermine the safety of U.S. communities and the integrity of U.S. immigration laws, and its primary areas of focus are interior enforcement operations, management of the agency’s detained and non-detained populations, and repatriation of noncitizens who have received final orders of removal. ERO’s workforce consists of more than 7,700 law enforcement and non-law enforcement support personnel across 25 domestic field offices and 208 locations nationwide, 30 overseas postings, and multiple temporary duty travel assignments along the border.
