http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases ... ington.htm

A Surenos gang member was among the 75 aliens deported to Mexico yesterday


BLOOMINGTON, Minn. - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers here deported 75 illegal aliens to Mexico yesterday afternoon, including an admitted street gang member. ICE has deported seven members of violent street gangs in the past 30 days.

Of the 75 transported to the U.S.-Mexico border for deportation, 53 had convictions for such crimes as: first-degree sexual assault, attempted sexual assault of a child, domestic assault, fraud, child abuse, drug offenses, illegal re-entry after deportation, drunken driving, identity theft and forgery.

In the 10-month period beginning Oct. 1, 2005 and ending July 31, ICE deported more than 2,400 illegal aliens to 55 different countries from the five-state area that includes: Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska. Of that number, more than 1,090 had criminal convictions. During fiscal year 2005, ICE deported more than 3,080 illegal aliens from the same geographic area; more than 1,370 of them had criminal convictions. Nationally, ICE removed more than 168,700 aliens in fiscal year 2005; of that number, more than 84,800 were criminal aliens.


Among the 75 deported yesterday was Ivan Carrillo-Escareno, 20, a citizen of Mexico and an admitted member of the violent Surenos street gang. ICE's fugitive operations team encountered Carrillo-Escareno Oct. 6 at his place of employment in Brooklyn Park, Minn. Brooklyn Park police had arrested him for assault three days before.

During the past 30 days, ICE also deported the following street gang members:


Ermilo Chavez-Lazarin, 19, a citizen of Mexico, is an admitted member of the Surenos street gang. He was convicted in Hennepin County of theft and tampering with a motor vehicle in October 2004, and was arrested for giving a police officer a false name in July 2006. ICE fugitive operations team members arrested Chavez-Lazarin at his Brooklyn Center, Minn. home Sept. 29. He was deported Oct. 18.



Joaquin Alvarado-Salazar, 18, a citizen of Mexico, is an admitted member of the Surenos street gang and bears a gang tattoo. He admitted to entering the U.S. illegally in May 2004, and was arrested by ICE's fugitive operations team Oct. 4. He was deported Oct. 18.



Victor Guillermo Lopez, 35, a citizen of Mexico, was turned over to ICE by the Hennepin County Sheriff's office Aug. 31. His criminal career began in California, where he was a member of the Florencia 13 street gang. Lopez was convicted in 1991 in California for burglary and felony auto theft, and again in 1992 for auto theft. While in prison, Lopez was arrested for drug possession in 1994 and attempted murder in 1995. In 1996 he was arrested for possessing a dangerous weapon and a controlled substance, and sent back to prison. Lopez then moved to Minnesota, where he was arrested in Burnsville in June 2003 for second-degree assault. He was then arrested for domestic assault and for giving a false name to a police officer in 2004, and for theft in 2005. In 2005, he was convicted of assault after stabbing a man in the face with a knife. Lopez was deported Oct. 4.



Marco Aguilar-Campis, 19, a citizen of Mexico, is an admitted member of the Surenos street gang. Members of ICE's fugitive operations team arrested him Sept. 26 outside his Minneapolis residence. Aguilar-Campis has been arrested three times for weapons violations: in December 2004 in Apple Valley, in August 2005 in Brooklyn Park, and in April 2006 in Minneapolis by metro transit police. He was deported Oct. 4.



Miguel Silvan-Gallegos, 19, a citizen of Mexico. He was arrested at his Minneapolis residence Sept. 22 by members of ICE's fugitive operations team. Silvan-Gallegos bears several gang tattoos and claims he has been a Surenos street gang member since he was 12. He was deported to Mexico Oct. 4.



Israel Diaz-Vences, 23, a citizen of Mexico, was turned over to ICE by the St. Paul Police Department Sept. 25. He bears several gang tattoos, and admitted to St. Paul Police to being a Surenos street gang member when he was stopped in a stolen car in 2004. Diaz-Vences was deported Sept. 27.


“ICE focuses on removing criminal aliens from our communities, and gang members are a particular priority,” said John Longshore, deputy field office director for the ICE Detention and Removal Operations Office in Bloomington. “We proudly stand by our record and will continue our work each day to help keep communities safe.”

The gang deportations are part of Operation Community Shield, ICE's comprehensive law enforcement initiative targeting violent criminal street gangs nationwide. Since it was launched in May 2005, Operation Community Shield has resulted in the arrest of more than 4,100 gang members and associates nationwide, including 77 in Minnesota.