ICE removes El Salvadoran national wanted for murder

Newark, New Jersey - A 32-year-old Salvadoran fugitive, wanted in his home country for homicide, was removed from the U.S. Friday, August 10, by deportation officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

Brian Alejandro Martinez, who has also gone by the name Maximiliano Cornejo, departed the U.S. and was turned over to Salvadoran law enforcement authorities where he is wanted for the offense of homicide.

On May 12, 2006, Martinez unlawfully entered the United States near Hidalgo, Texas. Two days later, the U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) arrested Martinez in Corpus Christi, Texas. On that same date, he falsely claimed to be a Mexican citizen, and USBP granted him voluntary return to Mexico. He re-entered the United States at an unknown date and unknown location.

Martinez was arrested in West New York, New Jersey, in 2014 on multiple local charges. He was sentenced to 253 days in jail and fined $125. On Nov. 14, 2014, Martinez was placed in ICE custody at the Hudson County Correctional Facility in Kearny, New Jersey, pending his removal proceedings. He posted bond in July 2015 and was released from custody.

On Aug. 3, 2016, Martinez was arrested in New York on additional local charges. On Oct. 12, 2016, he was re-arrested by ICE. On July 23, 2018, an immigration Judge ordered him removed from the United States to El Salvador.

The ICE ERO El Salvador Office and its Security Alliance for Fugitive Enforcement (SAFE) taskforce provided information to the local ERO field offices to facilitate this individual’s arrest.

“This individual’s egregious immigration history and serious criminal history in the U.S., as well as being wanted for homicide in his home country, shows that he is a dangerous individual who warranted removal from the community and the U.S.,” said John Tsoukaris, field office director of ERO Newark.

ICE removed or returned 226,119 aliens in fiscal year 2017. The proportion of FY17 removals resulting from ICE arrests increased by nearly ten percent over the previous fiscal year, and the number of ICE interior removals in FY17 increased by over 15,000 from FY16.

ICE is focused on removing public safety threats, such as convicted criminal aliens and gang members, as well as individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws, including those who illegally re-entered the country after being removed and immigration fugitives ordered removed by federal immigration judges.