On Wednesday March 4, 2020, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) removed Salvadoran national Jonathan Alexander Mejia-Santos, 31, to El Salvador.
Mejia-Santos is wanted by law enforcement officials in El Salvador for allegedly participating in a murder related to gang activity. Once in El Salvador, ICE transferred custody to the Policia Nacional Civil (PNC) of El Salvador.
On Dec.12, 2018, the U.S. Border Patrol arrested Mejia-Santos, after he illegally entered the U.S. near Lukeville, Arizona and placed him in removal proceedings.
On Aug. 27, a federal immigration judge with the Executive Office for Immigration Review ordered him removed from the U.S. to El Salvador. Mejia-Santos appealed this decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA); however the BIA dismissed his appeal and upheld the immigration judge’s decision on Jan. 31.
Since Oct. 1, 2009, ICE has removed more than 3,700 foreign fugitives from the United States who were sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder. In fiscal year 2019,ICE arrested 143,000 illegal immigrants, more than 86 percent of whom had criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, and removed or repatriated 267,000 illegal immigrants.
ICE is focused on removing public safety threats, such as convicted criminal illegal immigrants and gang members, as well as individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws, including those who illegally re-enter the country after prior removal, and immigration fugitives ordered removed by federal immigration judges.
