ERO arrests 11 known or suspected human rights violators across US during national law enforcement action

WASHINGTON - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 11 fugitives sought for their roles in known or suspected human rights violations during a nationwide operation from June 10 through June 14.

Enforcement and Removal Operations' National Fugitive Operations Program, in coordination with the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center of Homeland Security Investigations and ICE's Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, worked with ERO in Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, El Paso, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York, Phoenix, Seattle, San Francisco and St. Paul to identify, locate and apprehend the known or suspected human rights violators.

"These individuals fraudulently entered the United States in an attempt to escape justice in their home countries," said Enforcement and Removal Operations Executive Associate Director Daniel A. Bible. "Thanks to the coordinated efforts of the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center, the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor and the men and women of Enforcement and Removal Operations who made the arrests, our communities are safer and 11 known or suspected human rights violators will not receive safe haven in the U.S."

All foreign nationals arrested during this operation have outstanding final orders of removal and are subject to removal to their countries of origin.

Those arrested include:

• Three people from Central America implicated in a variety of human rights violations against civilians and political opponents, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, intelligence gathering for violent regimes and attacks against civilian infrastructure.
• Three people from Africa implicated in extrajudicial killings, rape, recruiting child soldiers and committing atrocities on behalf of governments in addition to supporting persecutor groups.
• One person from Asia who admitted to targeting women for forced abortions and sterilizations, as well as physically abducting women while working on behalf of the ruling political party.
• Two former members of paramilitary groups - one in Asia, another in the Caribbean - known to have committed serious human rights violations through violent repression and arresting people without cause and extorting civilians by use of force.
• Two people from the Caucasus who admitted to organizing violent clashes with opposing political factions and targeting religious minorities for abuse.

From 2014 to 2024, ERO has successfully conducted nine operations targeting known and suspected human rights violators. The most recent operation advances its continued commitment to identifying, investigating, prosecuting and removing known or suspected human rights violators who seek safe haven in the United States.

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.

The HSI-led Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center supported this operation by vetting the arrested subjects to determine any links to ongoing atrocity investigations.

HSI's Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center, established in 2009, investigates human rights violators who try to evade justice by seeking shelter in the United States, including those who are known or suspected to have participated in persecution, war crimes, genocide, torture, extrajudicial killings, severe violations of religious freedom, female genital mutilation and cutting, and the use or recruitment of child soldiers. These individuals may use fraudulent identities or falsified documents to enter the United States in attempt to blend in with communities.

The Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center leverages the expertise of a select group of agents, lawyers, intelligence and research specialists, historians and analysts who direct the agency's broader enforcement efforts against these offenders.

Since 2003, ICE has arrested more than 510 people for human rights-related violations of the law under various criminal and immigration statutes. During that same period, ICE obtained deportation orders against and physically removed 1,125 known or suspected human rights violators from the United States. Additionally, the agency has facilitated the departure of an additional 199 such people from the United States.

Currently, HSI has more than 168 active investigations into suspected human rights violators and is pursuing more than 1,850 leads and removals cases involving suspected human rights violators from 95 different countries. Since 2003, the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center has written 240 human rights assessments, issued more than 79,000 lookouts and stopped over 383 human rights violators and war crime suspects from entering the United States.

ICE focuses its civil immigration enforcement priorities on the apprehension and removal of noncitizens who threaten our national security, public safety and border security.

Members of the public who have information about foreign nationals suspected of engaging in human rights abuses or war crimes are urged to contact ICE by calling the toll-free ICE tip line at 866-347-2423 or internationally at 001-1802-872-6199. They can also email [email protected] or complete ICE's online tip form.

Learn more about ICE's mission to increase public safety in your community on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @ICEgov.

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