WASHINGTON — On Wednesday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) took custody of Salvadoran national Celio Alexander Serrano Trejo, 33, after his arrest by the Prince William County, Va., Police Department for possession of controlled substances. Serrano is the subject of an INTERPOL Red Notice and is wanted in his home country for his participation in MS-13.

On Nov. 10, 2019, officers with the Prince William County Police Department arrested Serrano for possession of schedule 1 or 2 controlled substance and possession of marijuana. On Nov. 11, a designated immigration officer with the 287(g) Program at the Prince William-Manassas Regional Adult Detention Center in Manassas, Va., trained to identify and process removable aliens with criminal charges, served Serrano a warrant of arrest and an immigration detainer. Serrano was issued a notice to appear in immigration court following his transfer to ICE custody on Wednesday and will remain in ICE custody pending the results of his removal proceedings. Serrano entered the U.S. without inspection at an unknown date.

“So much attention is paid to those law enforcement jurisdictions that refuse, or that are precluded from cooperating with ICE by law. Yet, most law enforcement officers would agree -- removing criminals from our communities results in a higher level of public safety for everyone. And there are many law enforcement agencies, like our 287(g) partners in Prince William County and around the country, who are doing what’s in the best interests of their communities and public safety – by working to make sure criminals like this are not released after they have been arrested by local law enforcement,” said Russell Hott, Washington, D.C. field office director.

The Prince William-Manassas Regional Adult Detention Center has been an ICE 287(g) partner since 2007.

The 287(g) program, one of ICE’s top partnership initiatives, enables a state and local law enforcement entity to enter into a partnership with ICE, under a joint memorandum of agreement. The state or local entity receives delegated authority for immigration enforcement within their jurisdictions.

In fiscal year (FY) 2019, the 287(g) program resulted in almost 25,000 law enforcement encounters with aliens in the custody of participating jurisdictions. Almost 1,600 of those were in Prince William County.

As of January 2020, ICE has 125 287(g) agreements with 124 law enforcement agencies in 22 states.

Law enforcement agencies must make a request to ICE to participate in the 287(g) program and enter into a memorandum of agreement that defines the scope, duration and limitations of the delegation of authority. It also sets forth the training requirements, the terms of ICE supervision, and requires the partnering law enforcement agency to follow Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE policies when its designated immigration officers perform delegated immigration enforcement functions.