ERO Baton Rouge arrests at-large sex offender

NEW ORLEANS - Enforcement and Removal Operations New Orleans apprehended an unlawfully present 28-year-old Honduran national convicted of the charges of sexual battery and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The Honduran national who was erroneously released from Franklin Parish Detention Center Nov. 18, 2019. Officers with ERO New Orleans arrested Carlos Vasquez Oct. 2, 2024, at a worksite in Baton Rouge.

Vasquez unlawfully entered the United States on an unknown date, at an unknown location and without being inspected, admitted or paroled by a U.S. immigration official. On April 27, 2017, ERO Baton Rouge filed a detainer on Vasquez with the East Baton Rouge Parish Jail after his arrest for indecent behavior with juveniles, first-degree rape and oral sexual battery of an eight-year-old girl.

On Nov. 18, 2019, the 19th Judicial District Court in East Baton Rouge convicted him of the amended charge of sexual battery and sentenced him to six months of imprisonment with credit for time served. On the same date, the court accepted his guilty plea to the charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and fined him $500 and court costs of $235, placing him on supervised probation for a period of one year. On the same day, the Franklin Parish Detention Center erroneously released him from custody without notifying ERO Baton Rouge.

ERO conducts removals of individuals without a lawful basis to remain in the United States, including at the order of immigration judges with the Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review. The Executive Office for Immigration Review is a separate entity from the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Immigration judges in these courts make decisions based on the merits of each individual case, determining if a noncitizen is subject to a final order of removal or eligible for certain forms of relief from removal.

Members of the public can report crimes or suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the ICE online tip form.

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.

Learn more about ERO New Orleans mission to increase public safety in our communities on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @ERONewOrleans.