U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Buffalo field office has removed an unlawfully present noncitizen foreign fugitive MS-13 gang member who is wanted in El Salvador for aggravated homicide.
On Aug. 11, Jose Antonio Argueta Dominguez, 23, was escorted by ERO officers from Buffalo to San Salvador, El Salvador, where he was transferred to El Salvadoran authorities.
“Dangerous fugitives and MS-13 gang members like Argueta Dominguez have significant harmful effects on public safety,” said ERO Buffalo Field Office Director Thomas Brophy. “Keeping our communities safe is a top priority for ERO Buffalo and we’re proud to have removed this dangerous fugitive.”
Argueta Dominguez unlawfully entered the United States on an unknown date at an unknown location. On Feb. 9, 2022, ERO New York encountered Argueta Dominguez at the Suffolk County Jail in Riverhead following his arrest for assault. ERO New York lodged an immigration detainer. The Suffolk County Court convicted Argueta Dominguez of assault in the third degree and sentenced him to three years’ probation on March 22.
On May 4, ERO New York arrested Argueta Dominguez, served him a notice to appear for immigration proceedings, and detained him in ICE custody. On July 11, an immigration judge with the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) ordered Argueta Dominguez removed to El Salvador.
Noncitizens placed into removal proceedings receive their legal due process from federal immigration judges in the immigration courts, which are administered by EOIR within the Department of Justice. EOIR is a separate entity from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Immigration judges in these courts make decisions based on the merits of each individual case, determining if a noncitizen is subject to a final order of removal or eligible for certain forms of relief from removal. Once a noncitizen is subject to a final order of removal issued by an immigration judge or other lawful means, ICE officers may carry out the removal.
ICE officers make enforcement decisions on a case-by-case basis in a professional and responsible manner, informed by their experience as law enforcement officials and in a way that best protects against the greatest threats to the homeland.
In fiscal year 2022, ERO arrested 46,396 noncitizens with criminal histories. This group had 198,498 associated charges and convictions, including 21,531 assault offenses; 8,164 sex and sexual assault offenses; 5,554 weapons offenses; 1,501 homicide-related offenses; and 1,114 kidnapping offenses.
