U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Houston Field Office, in collaboration with ERO El Salvador and the Security Alliance for Fugitive Enforcement (SAFE) Task Force, successfully repatriated a Salvadoran fugitive on May 24.
Ismael Adonay Aguilar Cornejo, a 31-year-old individual wanted for aggravated homicide and illicit group activities, was flown from Alexandria, Louisiana, to the Monseñor Óscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport in San Salvador, El Salvador, on a charter flight organized by ICE’s Air Operations Unit. Upon arrival, Aguilar Cornejo was transferred to officials from El Salvador’s Civilian National Police for further proceedings.
“The United States will not be a safe haven for foreign fugitives, violent criminals and transnational gang members seeking to evade prosecution for crimes they are alleged to have committed in another country,” said ERO Houston Field Office Director Bret A. Bradford. “Our fugitive operations officers work tirelessly, alongside our domestic and international partners, to prevent these dangerous criminal noncitizens from reigning terror on our local communities by quickly apprehending and repatriating them to their country of origin to face justice.”
Aguilar illegally entered the U.S. on an unknown date and at an unknown location. On Sept. 11, 2012, he was apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) near Hidalgo, Texas. Border Patrol officials transferred Aguilar into ICE custody Sept. 13, 2012. On Nov. 30, 2012, Aguilar was released on an order of recognizance (OREC) pending disposition of his immigration proceedings. Following his release, Aguilar failed to appear for his immigration proceedings and absconded from authorities. On Feb. 5, 2014, an immigration judge with the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) ordered Aguilar removed from the U.S. to El Salvador in absentia.
On Oct. 25, 2023, ERO Houston fugitive operations officers successfully located and arrested Aguilar in southeast Houston. Following his arrest, ERO Houston confirmed with the Salvadoran government that Aguilar was wanted for aggravated homicide and illicit groups. On Nov. 20, 2023, Aguilar filed a motion to reopen his immigration case, however, that motion was denied by an immigration judge on Dec. 5, 2023. Aguilar subsequently appealed the IJ’s decision with the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) on Jan. 17, 2024. On April 10, the BIA dismissed Aguilar’s appeal and he was removed by ICE officers to El Salvador May 24.
Members of the public who have information about foreign fugitives are urged to contact ICE by calling the ICE Tip Line at 1 (866) 347-2423 or internationally at 001-1802-872-6199. They can also file a tip online by completing ICE’s online tip form.
For more news and information on how ERO Houston carries out its immigration enforcement mission in Southeast Texas follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter, @EROHouston.
The SAFE Program is a fugitive enforcement and information sharing partnership that was created in 2012 to better use subject information derived from local in-country investigative resources and leads to locate, apprehend, detain, and remove individuals residing in the U.S. illegally who were subject to foreign arrest warrants. The SAFE Program operates under the respective host nation’s AAR, which constructs a SAFE task force composed of relevant foreign law enforcement agencies, immigration authorities, attorneys general, and national identification repositories – as well as other regional, national, state, and local government agencies. The managing AAR ensures that each task force member complies with SAFE policies and standards consistent with the program’s standard operating procedures. Once established, the AAR-led SAFE task force generates new leads and vets existing SAFE fugitive referrals for ERO action.
As one of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) three operational directorates, Enforcement and Removal Operations (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 (TDY) assignments along the border.
Fabulous! So he’ll be back in a few months.
In a few months. please he is probably halfway back by now.
Shit, I thought this was the one who shot the 5 in San Jac County. I see it’s a different murderous wetback.
Did we need to know about this farce? One out of 50,000,000? Lol! They don’t even check Colony Ridge.