Immigration deports Salvadorans who were previously deported from the United States

-Published: Thursday, November 28, 2019-

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

The Professional Migration Police deported five citizens of Salvadoran nationality this weekend because they have criminal records in their country of origin or in the United States.

According to Immigration, the men surnamed Quintanilla-Salinas, Ramírez-Villatoro, Santamaría, Mira and Alvarado "are linked to highly dangerous groups such as the maras and other gangs, this according to the results obtained from the consultations made to the bases of police data."

According to the investigation carried out by the immigration police, Santamaría, has a history of drug possession and drug possession, in addition to aggravated extortion. He was deported twice from the United States and linked to the MS-13 gang in Los Angeles, the agency said.

Ramírez-Villatoro was deported from the United States in 2001 for crimes related to threats with a knife, and”also, on his body, he has tattoos related to the MS-13 gang," Immigration said in its statement.

Alvarado has a history of illegal and irresponsible possession and possession of firearms and was deported from the United States in 2010, said the agency.

The other two men have no record of having been deported from the United States, however, the police confirmed that they have other criminal records.

Quintanilla-Salinas had an impediment to entering the country since he had been deported in 2017, and in addition, he had served three years and four months' imprisonment for the crime of aggravated robbery in Costa Rica, said the agency.

Mira has a history of being in jail for illegal associations, the agency added.

The five Salvadorans have already been deported to El Salvador where officials of that country will continue with the judicial process. MS-13 is the designation for the Mara Salvatrucha criminal gang that has a strong presence in areas populated by immigrants in the United States.

In another case of foreigners being arrested related to criminal activities, in October, the Border Police officers from the Guaycará delegation in the Golfito District in the southern zone of the country arrested a man surnamed Polanco, a Dominican citizen, who is named in a warrant from the U.S. Justice Department.

According to the police report, Polanco is wanted by a New York court for a case linked to a murder.

"He was traveling as a passenger in a car when he was going to San José, apparently coming from somewhere in the border sector with Panamá," said the police in its report.

In the routine review, the man handed the officers a passport and a driver's license of a U.S. citizen named Michael Dominik John from California, police said.

"Everything seemed normal," the police said in its report. "With that identification, there was no criminal record or warrant order."

However, during the routine review, the man admitted to the officers that the documents were fake and his real name was Julio Mairena and that he was born in Nicaragua, police said.

Given the situation, the officers said they decided to review the identifications with the Drug Control Police and with authorities of the U. S. Embassy in Costa Rica.

The man was arrested for using a false document and, after an investigation, the officers discovered that the true surname of the suspect was Polanco, who born in the Dominican Republic Nov. 3, 1980, and that he was the subject of an arrest warrant for the New York murder case.

According to the police report, Polanco does reside in the United States and in Costa Rica he was living in an apartment located in the community of Colima in the district of Tibás in the province of San José.

Also in October, the Professional Migration Police reported that four U.S. citizens were prohibited from entering the country because they have criminal records of sexual abuse against minors.

According to the police report, the first case happened when three men, all U.S. citizens, arrived in the country by boat and tried to enter through the maritime immigration control post located in the Puntarenas port.

The fourth U.S. citizen also was rejected when he arrived in the country, apparently from Nicaragua, and tried to enter the country at the Peñas Blancas post on the northern border.

According to the immigration police, the officers of the border posts detected that these people, both the three men who came by boat and the one who came by land, have a history of sexual abuse against minors and possession of child pornography.

"Given this background, the officers proceed to reject the requests to enter the country," said the Directorate General of Migration in its report.

In all four cases, the men had reported that they were coming to the country as tourists. Them names were not reported in the police statement.

According to the data provided by the Directorate General of Migration, during this year, from January to October, the request for entry of 48 people has been rejected because of criminal records of sexual abuse against minors.

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What should the immigration authorities do to prevent the entry of foreigners with a criminal record? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com.