South Texas ICE officers deport previously removed Salvadoran wanted for attempted homicide

SAN ANTONIO — A fugitive from El Salvador, who was wanted for attempted homicide and aggravated robbery in his home country, was deported a sixth time Thursday by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

ERO officers removed Sanchez-Rubio May 12 via an ICE Air charter flight from Laredo, Texas, to San Salvador, El Salvador, where he was turned over to Salvadoran authorities.

This removal is the latest result of stepped-up collaborative efforts to locate Salvadoran criminal fugitives in the United States and return them to El Salvador to face justice.

Oscar Argelio Sanchez-Rubio, 37, was the subject of an Interpol Red Notice for attempted homicide and aggravated robbery. A Red Notice is an international arrest warrant. Both crimes occurred Feb. 11, 2002, in a neighborhood called “Cerveceria La Bola de Oro” in San Salvador. Sanchez-Rubio is accused of attempting to murder two people and steal from three others.

“This removal of Sanchez-Rubio to El Salvador reflects ERO’s commitment to public safety in the United States, and also abroad,” said Acting San Antonio Field Office Director Deborah Achim. “This is one of many removals that sends a clear message that the United States will not be used as a safe haven for those fleeing justice.”

Sanchez-Rubio had been previously deported five times before illegally re-entering the U.S. in March 2015. He has a previous felony conviction for illegally re-entering the U.S. after being deported.
Sanchez-Rubio was encountered by ICE ERO at the Travis County (Texas) Jail July 10, 2015, after he was arrested by local authorities on criminal charges.

On Dec. 11, 2015, Sanchez-Rubio was transferred to ICE custody. On the same day, he was convicted in the Western District of Texas for re-entry after deportation; he was sentenced to serve 83 days in federal prison to include 12 months’ probation.

On March 4, 2016, Sanchez-Rubio was transferred to ICE after release from federal prison, and was detained at the South Texas Detention Complex, Pearsall, Texas, where he remained until his May 12 removal.

This removal was part of ERO’s Security Alliance for Fugitive Enforcement (SAFE) Initiative. The SAFE Initiative is geared toward the identification of foreign fugitives who are wanted abroad and removable under U.S. immigration law.

In just four years, through the SAFE Initiative, ERO has removed more than 630 criminal fugitives to El Salvador. Those removed as part of the SAFE Initiative have been deemed ineligible to remain in the United States and were all wanted by El Salvador’s National Police Force.

SAFE aligns with ERO’s public safety priorities and eliminates the need for formal extradition requests.

Since Oct. 1, 2009, ERO has removed more than 1,150 foreign fugitives from the United States who were sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder. ERO works with the ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Office of International Operations, foreign consular offices in the United States, and Interpol to identify foreign fugitives illegally present in the United States. Members of the public who have information about foreign fugitives are urged to contact ICE by calling the toll-free 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.

In fiscal 2015, ICE removed or returned 235,413 individuals. Of this total, 165,935 were apprehended while, or shortly after, attempting to illegally enter the United States. The remaining 69,478 were apprehended in the interior of the United States, and the vast majority of these were convicted criminals who fell within ICE’s civil immigration enforcement priorities.

Ninety-eight percent of ICE’s fiscal 2015 removals and returns fell into one or more of ICE’s civil immigration enforcement priorities, with 86 percent falling in Priority 1 and eight percent in Priority 2. In addition, ICE’s interior enforcement activities led to an increase in the percentage of interior removals that were convicted criminals, growing from 82 percent in fiscal 2013 to 91 percent in 2015.