McALLEN, TEXAS (Border Report) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have deported two Mexican nationals and a Salvadorian who officials say are in gangs and have repeatedly entered the U.S. illegally.
The deportations come as President Donald Trump on Thursday named eight Latin American cartels as ‘foreign terrorist organizations.’
Sureños-13 gang
ICE officials on Thursday removed Francisco Lopez Melendez, 32, from the Houston area. Officials say he is a Mexican national who is a member of the Sureños-13 gang.
Melendez has been removed from the United States six times. He was last deported to Mexico in November 2019, ICE says. He also was removed from the country in November 2013, May 2015, May 2018, and October 2018.
Melendez has been convicted of failure to give identification and providing law enforcement with fictitious information; stolen property; burglary; driving while intoxicated; drug possession, evading arrest; illegal entry and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, ICE says.
18th Street gang
On Feb. 14, ICE officials deported William Alexander Diaz Reyes, 32, back to El Salvador from Alexandria, Louisiana.
Officials say Diaz is wanted in El Salvador for aggravated terrorist organizations for his affiliation with the 18th Street transnational gang.
Officials say he illegally entered the United States twice in 2021 and was expelled under Title 42 two times that year. He later illegally re-entered at an unknown date and was arrested by ICE on April 19 and placed in immigration proceedings.
A federal immigration judge had ordered Diaz removed on Sept. 19 and an appeals court upheld that decision Jan. 13, which led to his recent deportation.
“For far too long, dangerous foreign fugitives, transnational gang members and other violent criminal aliens have illegally entered this country through our southern border with impunity putting the lives of law-abiding residents in jeopardy,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston Field Office Director Bret Bradford said in a statement. “Those days are over, as the law enforcement community in South Texas is more united than ever in our collective effort to enforce the laws of this nation and protect our communities from harm.”
Paisas gang
ICE on Feb. 13 removed Humberto Romero Avila, 45, a Mexican national who officials say is a member of the Paisas gang and wanted in Mexico on murder charges stemming from the 2007 death of a 22-year-old Mexican.
Romero was convicted four times for DWI and once for larceny, illegal entry and illegal reentry. He also had prior criminal conviction for aggravated assault of a family member and illegal possession of a firearm.
“In recent years, some of the world’s most dangerous fugitives, transnational gang members and criminal aliens have taken advantage of the crisis at our nation’s southern border to illegally enter the U.S.,” Bradford said. “After making it into the country, these violent criminal aliens have infiltrated our local communities and reigned terror on law-abiding residents. Fueled by our unwavering commitment to protect the public from harm, and united in our determination to reestablish sovereignty over our southern border, the law enforcement community in Texas has banded together to remove these dangerous criminals from our country and restore law and order in our communities.”
Foreign terrorist organizations
Thursday, Trump named these eight Latin American drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations:
- Sinaloa cartel, of Mexico
- Jalisco New Generation cartel, of Mexico
- Gulf cartel, of Mexico
- Northeast cartel, of Mexico
- La Nueva Familia Michoacana, of Mexico
- United Cartels, of Mexico
- Tren de Aragua, of Venezuela
- Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), of El Salvador
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderRepoort.com.