A man wanted in his home country of El Salvador for aggravated homicide and criminal association was removed from the U.S. Friday by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
Emilio Coreas-Avelar, 24, an alleged MS-13 gang member, was the subject of an Interpol Red Notice issued in May 2015. Coreas-Avelor illegally entered the United States at an unknown location and date.
In June, officers with ERO Washington’s Fugitive Operations Team investigated a lead into Coreas-Avelar’s whereabouts and arrested him at his residence in Burke, Virginia, where he admitted he was a citizen of El Salvador and illegally present in the U.S. At that point in time, ERO officers served him a notice to appear in immigration court.
In September, an immigration judge ordered Coreas-Avelar removed from the U.S. to El Salvador.
“Our officers dutifully uphold U.S. immigration laws, ensuring individuals who pose threats to the safety of our communities do not remain in our country,” said Yvonne Evans, field office director for ERO Washington, D.C.
“Accused murderers will not use the United States as a safe haven.”
In preparation for his removal, ERO officers transported Coreas-Avelor from Virginia, where he was being detained, to Louisiana. He departed the country on an ICE Air Operations charter flight from Alexandria, Louisiana, with a stopover in Dallas, Texas, before arriving at San Salvador International Airport in El Salvador Friday.
There, ERO officers transferred Coreas-Avelar to the custody of El Salvadoran law enforcement officials.
(Learn More about ICE ERO, courtesy of ICE .gov and YouTube)
This removal was part of ERO’s Security Alliance for Fugitive Enforcement (SAFE) Initiative. The SAFE Initiative is geared toward the identification of foreign fugitives who are wanted abroad and removable under U.S. immigration law.
In just three years, through the SAFE Initiative, ERO has removed more than 600 criminal fugitives to El Salvador. Those removed as part of the SAFE Initiative have been deemed ineligible to remain in the United States and were all wanted by the Policia Nacional Civil (PNC).
SAFE aligns with ERO’s public safety priorities and eliminates the need for formal extradition requests.
