ERO St. Paul arrests foreign fugitive wanted in Honduras for homicide

ST. PAUL, Minn. - On March 13, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) St. Paul arrested a foreign fugitive wanted in Honduras for homicide.

The 30-year-old unlawfully present Honduran citizen is wanted by authorities in Honduras for the crime of homicide using a firearm.

On March 12, the North Platte Police Department arrested the noncitizen in North Platte, Nebraska, charged him with no operator's license, and notified ERO of a foreign born national being under arrest. The same day, ERO lodged an immigration detainer with the Lincoln County Jail. On March 13, ERO St. Paul arrested him. He is currently detained at the Phelps County Jail without bond, pending removal proceedings.

"ERO St. Paul is committed to public safety, and a significant part of keeping our communities safe is the apprehension and removal of foreign fugitives to their home countries," said ERO St. Paul Field Office Director Peter B. Berg. "Well done to the officers and our law enforcement partners involved in arresting this dangerous fugitive."

Noncitizens placed into removal proceedings receive their legal due process from federal immigration judges in the immigration courts, which are administered by the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). EOIR is an agency within the U.S. Department of Justice and is separate from the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Immigration judges in these courts make decisions based on the merits of each individual case. ICE officers carry out the removal decisions made by the federal immigration judges.

As one of ICE's three operational directorates, ERO is the principal federal law enforcement authority in charge of domestic immigration enforcement. ERO's mission is to protect the homeland through the arrest and removal of those who undermine the safety of U.S. communities and the integrity of U.S. immigration laws, and its primary areas of focus are interior enforcement operations, management of the agency's detained and non-detained populations, and repatriation of noncitizens who have received final orders of removal. ERO's workforce consists of more than 7,700 law enforcement and non-law enforcement support personnel across 25 domestic field offices and 208 locations nationwide, 30 overseas postings, and multiple temporary duty travel assignments along the border.

In fiscal year (FY) 2023 ERO arrested 73,822 noncitizens with criminal histories; this group had 290,178 associated charges and convictions with an average of four per individual. These included 33,209 assaults; 4,390 sex and sexual assaults; 7,520 weapons offenses; 1,713 charges or convictions for homicide; and 1,655 kidnapping offenses.

Members of the public can report crime and suspicious activity by calling 866-347-2423 or completing the online tip form. Learn more about ERO St. Paul's mission to preserve public safety on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @EROSaintPaul.