Immigration and Customs Enforcement, November 14, 2019

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) removed a Salvadoran national Monday, Nov. 4, who is wanted in his home country on criminal conspiracy and illicit groupings charges. Jose Carlos Henriquez-Escalante, 27, an MS-13 gang member, was removed from the United States via an ICE Air Operations charter flight and transferred into the custody of Salvadoran law enforcement authorities.

“Henriquez illegally snuck into the country, using our communities to shield him from prosecution in his home country,” said Thomas R. Decker, field office director for ERO New York. “Criminals like Hernandez will continue to find refuge in sanctuary cities like New York, but I am certain that the average New Yorker does not want to live next door to an MS-13 gang member. ICE will continue to remove criminal aliens and foreign fugitives from our streets and from our country, because public safety is our priority.”

Henriquez-Escalante illegally entered the United States at an unknown place, on an unknown date. On Oct 2, 2013, Henriquez-Escalante was arrested by ERO deportation officers near Oneonta, New York, and placed into removal proceedings. The next day, he posted bond and was released from ICE custody.

According to Salvadoran law enforcement authorities, in April 2014, the Specialized Magistrate Court “B” in San Salvador, El Salvador, issued an arrest warrant for Henriquez-Escalante for the crime of criminal conspiracy under Article 345 of the Salvadoran criminal code, related to article 1, and subsequent articles, of the law prohibiting gangs and other criminal groups, associations or organizations, to the detriment of public peace. In March 2019, Interpol issued a Red Notice for Henriquez-Escalante indicating he is wanted by authorities in El Salvador for criminal conspiracy and being a member of Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13).

On April 9, 2019, ERO Headquarters in Washington D.C. advised ERO New York that Henriquez-Escalante was the subject of an Interpol Red Notice. On Apr 24, 2019, ERO-New York deportation officers assigned to ERO-New York’s Special Response Team (SRT) arrested Henriquez-Escalante in Manhattan, and returned him to ICE custody.

On Oct. 21, 2019, Henriquez-Escalante was ordered removed by an immigration judge in New York City and waived his right to appeal, clearing the way for his removal to El Salvador.

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. In fiscal year 2017, ICE conducted 226,119 removals nationwide. Fifty-three percent of individuals removed from the interior of the United States had previously been convicted of a criminal offense.