Seven Year Sentence for El Salvador National Previously Deported Four Times

A convicted felon from El Salvador was sentenced Tuesday, August 7, 2012, to seven years and eight months in federal prison for illegally re-entering the United States after having been previously deported four times. This sentence resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

Jose Eligio Pineda-Parada, 47, was sentenced July 31 to 92 months in prison for illegally re-entering the United States as a previously deported felon. He was convicted of the charge after a one-day trial in May.

Court records showed that Pineda-Parada legally entered the United States in 1987. Evidence presented at the trial proved that in 1991, Pineda-Parada was convicted in Texas of a felony assault. He was sentenced to two years in prison and was deported in April 1992.

He illegally re-entered the United States and was again deported in October 1999, and deported a third time in December 2000. A federal judge in Texas sentenced him to 46 months in 2002 for illegally re-entering the United States for a third time. He was last deported to El Salvador in 2004.

Most recently, Lexington authorities arrested Pineda-Parada in December 2011 for driving drunk and other related traffic offenses. While at the Fayette County Detention Center, jail officials identified Pineda-Parada as an illegal alien who had been previously deported. ERO was notified and took Pineda-Parada into custody.

Under federal law, Pineda-Parada will have to serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence. He will be deported to El Salvador for a fifth time after he completes his prison sentence.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Marye, Eastern District of Kentucky, prosecuted the case.

MS-13 Gang Member Pleads Guilty to Illegal Reentry

A citizen and national of El Salvador and a member of the

MS-13 street

gang who was previously convicted of sexually assaulting a child in Fairfax County, Va., pleaded guilty Thursday, July 26, 2012, to illegally reentering the United States after having been previously deported.

The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

According to court documents, Salvador Portillo, 30, illegally entered the United States and was removed by ICE Oct. 8, 2003. Thereafter, Portillo again illegally reentered the United States.

On Dec. 26, 2010, Portillo sexually assaulted an 8-year-old girl in Fairfax County. He was subsequently convicted of rape and sodomy in the Fairfax County Circuit Court and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Portillo was indicted for illegal reentry Feb. 23 and transferred from state to federal custody July 12. He faces a maximum penalty of two years in federal prison when he is sentenced Aug. 31, which would follow the sentence term imposed by Fairfax County.

Virginia Assistant Attorney General and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Marc Birnbaum are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

El Salvadoran Authorities Take National Convicted of Homicide Back Into Custodt

An El Salvadoran national, who is wanted in his home country for aggravated homicide, was deported and turned over to El Salvadoran law enforcement officials Wednesday, May 30, 2012, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

Francisco Piche-Aguilar, 23, was deported via government charter flight May 30. An Interpol arrest warrant was issued for Piche-Aguilar Dec. 9, 2010, in connection with the stabbing death of a 37-year-old victim in February 2010.

Piche-Aguilar entered the United States July 17, 2010 on a temporary visitor's visa. He remained in the United States illegally after his visa expired. On July 18, 2011, Piche-Aguilar was encountered by Hoffman Estates (Ill.) police after they received a tip regarding a person wanted for murder. Local authorities contacted ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Piche-Aguila was taken into ICE custody.

On Feb. 2, a federal immigration judge in Chicago ordered Piche-Aguilar deported. A subsequent appeal of the judge's decision was withdrawn by Piche-Aguilar April 17, and the removal order became final.

"This individual attempted to escape justice in El Salvador by seeking safe haven in the United States," said Ricardo Wong, ERO Chicago field office director. "On a daily basis, ICE protects public safety by arresting and removing international fugitives who pose a threat to our communities."

ERO is focused on smart, effective immigration enforcement that targets serious criminal aliens who present the greatest risk to the security of our communities, such as those charged with or convicted of homicide, rape, robbery, kidnapping, major drug offenses and threats to national security. ERO also prioritizes the arrest and removal of those who game the immigration system including immigration fugitives or those criminal aliens who have been previously deported and illegally re-entered the country.

As a result of these types of initiatives, for three years in a row, ICE has removed more aliens than were removed in fiscal year (FY) 2008. Overall, in FY 2011 ICE removed 396,906 individuals nationwide - the largest number in the agency's history. Of these, nearly 55 percent or 216,698 were convicted criminals - an 89 percent increase since FY 2008. This figure includes 1,119 aliens convicted of homicide, 5,849 aliens convicted of sexual offenses, 44,653 aliens convicted of drug-related crimes, and 35,927 aliens convicted of driving under the influence.