ERO Houston removes 18th Street gang member wanted in El Salvador for criminal conspiracy

HOUSTON - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston, with assistance from ERO El Salvador and the Security Alliance for Fugitive Enforcement Task Force, removed Carlos Alfredo Montano-Velasquez, a 32-year-old unlawfully present Salvadoran national, from the United States Dec. 6. Montano-Velasquez is a documented member of the 18th Street Gang and is wanted in El Salvador for criminal conspiracy.

Montano-Velasquez was flown from Alexandria, Louisiana, on a charter flight coordinated by ICE's Air Operations Unit to the El Salvador International Airport in San Salvador and was turned over to Salvadoran authorities.

"The 18th Street Gang is a violent transnational gang known for its brutality and sophistication," said ERO Houston Field Office Director Bret A. Bradford. "Our fugitive operations officers are highly skilled and adept at locating and safely taking gang members and other dangerous criminal noncitizens like this individual into custody to eliminate the threat that they pose to public safety. The selfless work they do day-in and day-out to protect our local communities and restore integrity to our nation's immigration system is a true testament to their character and I can't thank them enough."

Montano-Velasquez illegally entered the U.S. on an unknown date and at an unknown location without inspection, admission, or parole by a U.S. immigration officer. The U.S. Border Patrol encountered and took Montano-Velasquez into custody Aug. 6, 2014, near Laredo, Texas.

Border Patrol officials transferred Montano-Velasquez to ICE custody Aug. 7, 2014, and he was placed into immigration proceedings. Montano-Velasquez was released on bond Sept. 18, 2014, pending disposition of his immigration proceedings. An immigration judge with the Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review ordered Montano-Velasquez removed from the United States July 1, 2019. Montano-Velasquez appealed that decision with the Board of Immigration Appeals July 17, 2019. The Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed Montano-Velasquez' appeal July 25, 2022, and he filed a petition for review to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The Court of Appeals denied Montano-Velasquez' petition for review July 13, 2023. Fugitive operations officers from ERO Houston located and arrested Montano-Velasquez Nov. 4, 2024.

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 the ERO Houston Field Office carries out its immigration enforcement mission in Southeast Texas follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter, @EROHouston.

The Security Alliance for Fugitive Enforcement 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 Assistant Attaché for Removal, 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 assistant attaché ensures that each task force member complies with SAFE policies and standards consistent with the program's standard operating procedures. Once established, the assistant attaché led SAFE task force generates new leads and vets existing SAFE fugitive referrals for ERO action.

ERO is one of ICE's three operational directorates and 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.