HOUSTON – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Houston Field Office, with assistance from ERO Mexico and the Security Alliance for Fugitive Enforcement (SAFE) Task Force in Mexico, removed a foreign fugitive from the U.S. who is wanted for homicide in his home country of Mexico.
On Sunday, immigration officers from the ICE ERO Houston Field Office transported Jose Matilde Rico Sanchez, a 48-year-old unlawfully present Mexican national, from the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe, Texas, to the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge in, Laredo, Texas. Rico was transferred into the custody of Mexican law enforcement authorities on Monday.
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According to officials, Rico illegally entered the U.S. without inspection or parole on an unknown date near Del Rio, Texas. He was first encountered by ERO Houston on Sept. 2, 2015, at the Harris County Jail following his arrest for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and an immigration detainer was lodged with the jail.
On March 28, 2016, Rico was convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the 180th District Court in Houston and he was sentenced to eight years in state prison. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice released Rico from custody on Jan. 4, 2023, and he was transferred into ICE custody pursuant to the immigration detainer.
On Jan. 9, 2023, Mexican officials confirmed to ERO Houston that Rico is wanted Guanajuato, Mexico, for homicide. An immigration judge (IJ) with the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review ordered Rico removed from the U.S. to Mexico on Jan. 19, 2023, and his removal was executed by ICE officers Jan. 30.
In addition to being convicted of aggravated assault in the U.S., Rico has also been convicted of driving while intoxicated and failure to stop on Dec. 15, 1999, in Harris County, Texas, officials said.
“This individual fled Mexico to avoid prosecution for his alleged crimes and he has continued to engage in criminal activity while here illegally in the U.S.,” said ERO Houston acting Field Office Director Gabriel Martinez. “By removing him from the U.S. to Mexico, we have eliminated a threat to public safety in our local community and sent a resounding message that Southeast Texas will not be a refuge for foreign fugitives or anyone who undermines the integrity of our nation’s immigration and criminal laws.”
Members of the public who have information about foreign fugitives are urged to contact ICE by calling the ICE Tip Line at 1 (866) 347-2423 or internationally at 001-1802-872-6199. They can also file a tip online by completing ICE’s online tip form. For more news and information on how the ICE ERO Houston Field Office carries out its immigration enforcement mission in Southeast Texas follow us on Twitter @EROHouston.