ERO Baltimore arrests Salvadoran national convicted of conspiracy to commit murder

BALTIMORE - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Enforcement and Removal Operations Baltimore apprehended Darwin Reynadi Cruz-Rosa, 25, an unlawfully present Salvadoran noncitizen convicted of second-degree conspiracy to commit murder Nov. 25.

"Cruz's involvement in conspiring to commit murder poses a direct and grave threat to the safety of our Maryland residents," said ERO Baltimore Field Office Director Matthew Elliston. "Noncitizens who engage in such violent and calculated crimes will not be tolerated to use our neighborhoods as safe havens. ERO Baltimore is unwavering in its commitment to prioritizing public safety by identifying, arresting, and removing the most egregious noncitizen offenders."

Cruz illegally entered the United States on an unknown date at an unknown location and without inspection by a U.S. immigration official.

ERO Philadelphia encountered Cruz in a van that contained 17 non-citizens April 18, 2007, and served him a notice to appear. On Aug. 26, 2008, a Department of Justice immigration judge in Baltimore, Maryland, granted Cruz a voluntary departure which required him to depart the United States on or before Dec. 24, 2008. Cruz failed to depart as required.

The Montgomery County Police Department, Maryland, arrested and charged Cruz April 16, 2019, with second-degree conspiracy to commit murder. On June 30, 2020, ERO Baltimore lodged an immigration detainer with the Montgomery County Detention Center in Rockville, Maryland. The Circuit Court for Montgomery County in Rockville, Maryland, convicted Cruz April 12, 2022, of second-degree conspiracy to commit murder and use of a firearm in a violent crime. Cruz received a sentence of 35 years, with all but seven years suspended and 5 years of supervised probation. On an unknown date, the Montgomery County Detention Center transferred Cruz to the Montgomery Correctional Training Center in Hagerstown, Maryland.

The MCTC transferred custody of Cruz to ERO Baltimore Nov. 25. Cruz will remain in ICE custody pending removal from the United States to El Salvador.

As part of its mission to identify and arrest removable noncitizens, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations lodges immigration detainers against noncitizens who have been arrested for criminal activity and taken into custody by state or local law enforcement. An immigration detainer is a request from ICE to state or local law enforcement agencies to notify ICE as early as possible before a removable noncitizen is released from their custody. Detainers request that state or local law enforcement agencies maintain custody of the noncitizen for a period not to exceed 48 hours beyond the time the individual would otherwise be released, allowing ERO to assume custody for removal purposes in accordance with federal law.

Detainers are critical public safety tools because they focus enforcement resources on removable noncitizens who have been arrested for criminal activity. Detainers increase the safety of all parties involved - ERO personnel, law enforcement officials, the removable noncitizens and the public - by allowing an arrest to be made in a secure and controlled custodial setting as opposed to at-large within the community. Since detainers result in the direct transfer of a noncitizen from state or local custody to ERO custody, they also minimize the potential that an individual will reoffend. Additionally, detainers conserve scarce government resources by allowing ERO to take criminal noncitizens into custody directly rather than expending resources locating these individuals at-large.

ERO conducts removals of individuals without a lawful basis to remain in the United States, including at the order of immigration judges with the Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review. EOIR is a separate entity from DHS and ICE. Immigration judges in these courts make decisions based on the merits of each individual case, determining if a noncitizen is subject to a final order of removal or eligible for certain forms of relief from removal.

As one of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) three operational directorates, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) is the principal federal law enforcement authority in charge of domestic immigration enforcement. ERO's mission is to protect the homeland through the arrest and removal of those who undermine the safety of U.S. communities and the integrity of U.S. immigration laws, and its primary areas of focus are interior enforcement operations, management of the agency's detained and non-detained populations, and repatriation of noncitizens who have received final orders of removal. ERO's workforce consists of more than 7,700 law enforcement and non-law enforcement support personnel across 25 domestic field offices and 208 locations nationwide, 30 overseas postings, and multiple temporary duty travel assignments along the border.

Members of the public can report crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.

Learn more about ICE's mission to increase public safety in our Baltimore communities on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @EROBaltimore.