Immigration authorities deported a Mexican citizen to his home country last month to face charges for murder and other crimes dating back decades.
Joaquin Villalobos Navarro, 54, was turned over to Mexican authorities at the southern border in Brownsville, Texas, on Feb. 28, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Friday.
He was wanted in Mexico for murder, robbery, criminal association and crimes against public officials, ICE said.
Joaquin Villalobos Navarro, 54, is seen on Feb. 28 being turned over to Mexican authorities at the southern border in Brownsville, Texas. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
"Needless to say, this is not someone coming to the United States for a better life; they are coming here to evade justice," said Robert Lynch, the Detroit field office director for ICE's Enforcement Removal Operations.
An arrest warrant was issued for Navarro on Feb. 18, 1994, by a judge in Coahuila, Mexico. Authorities did not know when he illegally entered the United States.
However, ICE was made aware of his fugitive status on April 1, 2022.
Navarro was arrested by immigration authorities on Oct. 17, 2023 in Bangor, Michigan.
On Dec. 14, 2023, a judge ordered that he be deported.