A Mexican man captured recently in northern Washington, who is wanted in his native country for homicide, was turned over to Mexican law enforcement authorities Wednesday by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
Jose De Jesus Barajas Lopez, 30, was transferred to the custody of representatives from Mexico’s Procuraduria General de la Republica (PGR) and Mexican immigration officials by ERO’s Special Response Team at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.
According to an arrest warrant issued by Mexican authorities, Barajas-Lopez is charged with murdering a man in Tecomán, Colima, in 2013.
Witness statements accompanying the warrant allege Barajas-Lopez fatally wounded the victim by shooting him multiple times in the chest following an argument near a neighborhood park.
Barajas-Lopez was arrested Aug. 16 in Othello by U.S. Border Patrol agents after the FBI alerted them about the outstanding homicide warrant.
Barajas-Lopez was subsequently transferred to ICE custody and placed in removal proceedings. He was ordered removed by an immigration judge last month, paving the way for Wednesday’s repatriation.
“Protecting the American people from violent criminals is our top priority. We did that today by removing another foreign fugitive trying to evade justice by fleeing to the U.S.,” said Bryan Wilcox, acting field office director for ERO in Seattle.
“The ongoing cooperation between U.S. law enforcement and our counterparts in Mexico is a testament to our commitment to hold these fugitives accountable for their actions.”
Since Oct. 1, 2009, ERO has removed more than 1,700 foreign fugitives from the United States who were sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder.
(Learn More, courtesy of ICE and YouTube)
Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) enforces the nation’s immigration laws in a fair and effective manner. It identifies and apprehends removable aliens, detains these individuals when necessary and removes illegal aliens from the U.S.
This unit prioritizes the apprehension, arrest and removal of convicted criminals, those who pose a threat to national security, fugitives and recent border entrants. Individuals seeking asylum also work with ERO.
ERO transports removable aliens from point to point, manages aliens in custody or in an alternative to detention program, provides access to legal resources and representatives of advocacy groups and removes individuals from the United States who have been ordered to be deported.
ERO works with the ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Office of International Operations, foreign consular offices in the United States, and Interpol to identify foreign fugitives illegally present in the United States.
Since Oct. 1, 2009, ERO has removed more than 1,150 foreign fugitives from the United States who were sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder.
ERO works with the ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Office of International Operations, foreign consular offices in the United States, and Interpol to identify foreign fugitives illegally present in the United States.
Members of the public who have information about foreign fugitives are urged to contact ICE by calling the toll-free ICE tip line at 1 (866) 347-2423 or internationally at 001-1802-872-6199.
They can also file a tip online by completing ICE’s online tip form.
In fiscal 2015, ICE removed or returned 235,413 individuals. Of this total, 165,935 were apprehended while, or shortly after, attempting to illegally enter the United States.
The remaining 69,478 were apprehended in the interior of the United States, and the vast majority of these were convicted criminals who fell within ICE’s civil immigration enforcement priorities.
Ninety-eight percent of ICE’s fiscal 2015 removals fell into one or more of ICE’s civil immigration enforcement priorities, with 86 percent falling in Priority 1 and eight percent in Priority 2.
In addition, ICE’s interior enforcement activities led to an increase in the percentage of interior removals that were convicted criminals, growing from 82 percent in fiscal 2013 to 91 percent in 2015.
