I.C.E. News Release

October 7, 2009

ICE deports former Mexican police officer wanted for murder

Victim died following severe injuries sustained after being doused with gasoline and lighted on fire

HOUSTON - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers on Wednesday deported a former police officer who is wanted by Mexican authorities for aggravated homicide.

Samuel Cruz-Delgado, 33, a former Mexican police officer, was turned over to Mexican authorities on Oct. 7 at the Lincoln/Juarez Bridge in Laredo, Texas. He was charged in November 2003 by the Seventh Judge of the Judicial District of El Centro in Oaxaca, Mexico with aggravated homicide.

The State of Oaxaca issued an arrest warrant on Jan. 14, 2002 alleging that Cruz-Delgado physically assaulted a female by dousing her with gasoline and lighting her on fire. She died after being hospitalized for 38 days.

Cruz-Delgado illegally entered the United States at an undisclosed location along the Arizona-Mexico border. He has remained a fugitive from Mexican authorities since he was charged in 2003. He was apprehended without incident on Aug. 31 by ICE Houston officers and agents in collaboration with Houston Police Department officers and special agents with the FBI's Violent Crimes Task Force.

Cruz-Delgado has been in ICE custody since his arrest for violating U.S. immigration laws. On Sept. 23, a federal immigration judge ordered him deported. The Mexican attorney general's office asked ICE for assistance in returning the fugitive to Mexico.

"Apprehending and removing dangerous foreign fugitives hiding in the United States remains a top priority of ICE," said Kenneth Landgrebe, field office director for the Office of Detention and Removal Operations in Houston. "ICE is committed to enforcing the nation's immigration laws and ensuring that foreign criminal aliens do not use the United States as a safe haven from their prosecution or penalty."

Nationwide, ICE has arrested more than 190 foreign fugitives from countries around the world since fiscal year 2007. ICE returned more than 369,000 illegal aliens to their countries of origin during fiscal year 2008, a nearly 27 percent increase over the previous year.

-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.

Last Modified: Wednesday, October 7, 2009
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0910/091007houston.htm