Salvadoran MS-13 gang member convicted in Iredell County of DWI was deported on Friday


Salvadoran MS-13 gang member Melvin Ramos is shown with two ICE deportation officers Friday morning on the tarmac of Alexandria (La.) International Airport, before he boarded an ICE Air charter flight to San Salvador, El Salvador. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement blurred the faces of the officers in the photo to protect their identities. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

August 19, 2016
BY JOE MARUSAK

A Salvadoran MS-13 gang member convicted of driving while impaired in Iredell County was deported on Friday to his home country, where he’s wanted for murder.

Melvin Eduardo Ramos, 34, was in the country illegally when he was arrested and convicted of DWI in October, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

ICE took custody of Ramos after his DWI conviction, and a federal immigration judge in May ordered him removed from the country.

Federal deportation officers in Atlanta transferred Ramos from the Stewart County Detention Center on Thursday to Alexandria, La.

Ramos was put on an ICE Air charter flight in Alexandria that arrived in San Salvador, El Salvador, Friday afternoon, ICE spokesman Bryan Cox said. Ramos was then transferred into Salvadoran custody, Cox said.

Since Oct. 1, 2009, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has removed 1,789 foreign fugitives from the United States who were sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder.

ICE says it focuses immigration enforcement on those who pose the biggest threat to national security, border security and public safety.

Anyone with information about foreign fugitives is encouraged to call the ICE tip line at 866-347-2423.

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