U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Philadelphia removed Miramar Martins De Brito, a citizen of Brazil with a final order of removal, to Brazil on Feb. 23. Martins is a foreign fugitive wanted by law enforcement authorities in Brazil for drug trafficking.
On Feb. 12, 2019, U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended Martins near El Paso, Texas, for entering the United States without admission or parole by an immigration official. Officials served Martins with a notice to appear, charging inadmissibility pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act.
U.S. Border Patrol officials transferred Martins to ERO El Paso on Feb. 19, 2019. On the same date, ERO El Paso served Martins an order of release on recognizance and released him. Martins reported to ERO Newark to enroll in the Alternatives to Detention Program. ERO Newark terminated Martins from the ATD program on Aug. 17, 2020, as a pre-order absconder for failure to report as required.
A criminal court in Brazil issued an arrest warrant for Martins for drug trafficking on Feb. 10, 2022. He was apprehended on Feb. 15 in Newark, New Jersey, during a targeted enforcement operation. He was detained at the Elizabeth Contract Detention Facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and then transferred to ERO Philadelphia at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Philipsburg.
On Aug. 25, 2023, a Department of Justice immigration judge in Richmond, Virginia, ordered Martins removed from the United States.
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.
