BALTIMORE – A fugitive alien and member of the 18th Street Gang was removed from the United States Friday by deportation officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

Elmer Edrulfo Rios-Mancia, 37, is wanted in El Salvador for aggravated homicide and membership to an illicit group.

Rios departed the United States on Friday from Alexandria International Airport in Louisiana under escort by ERO deportation officers. He was transferred to El Salvadoran law enforcement authorities upon his arrival in San Salvador, El Salvador.

“Alien fugitives seeking to elude justice at home may not hide here,” said ERO Baltimore Field Office Director Dorothy Herrera-Niles. “Our capable and professional officers will find you, will arrest you and will cooperate with our international partners to the fullest extent in the pursuit of justice.”

Rios entered the United States at an unknown location without being admitted or paroled after inspection by an immigration officer, and was arrested by ERO officers in Baltimore on March 8, 2017. Following his arrest, Rios was issued a notice to appear in immigration court.

An immigration judge ordered Rios removed from the United States to El Salvador on July 27, 2017. Rios appealed this decision with the Board of Immigration appeals, which denied his request on January 18, 2018.

ICE removed or returned 226,119 aliens in fiscal year 2017. The proportion of FY17 removals resulting from ICE arrests increased by nearly ten percent over the previous fiscal year, and the number of ICE interior removals in FY17 increased by over 15,000 from FY16.

ICE is focused on removing public safety threats, such as convicted criminal aliens and gang members, as well as individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws, including those who illegally re-entered the country after being removed and immigration fugitives ordered removed by federal immigration judges.