Photo: MediaNews Group RM
An immigrant in Houston who had entered the United States 10 times illegally is likely out of the country now for good amid murder allegations.
ICE officials said Humberto Avila is accused of killing a 22-year-old in Mexico in 2007. He was housed at the processing facility in Conroe before being handed over to Mexican authorities this week.
Avila has entered the U.S. illegally 10 times since 2002, including four times during that year alone. He was released to ICE in 2012 after getting a DWI charge in Nacogdoches County. He had illegally entered the country for the sixth time that year.
In 2013, Avila turned up in the U.S. again following another DWI arrest in Shelby County. His eighth appearance in the country came in early 2014. Number nine was about a month later when Avila was caught and prosecuted for illegal entry before being returned to Mexico after serving a 150-day sentence.
Avila's 10th illegal entry was flagged by ICE last March following his fourth DWI arrest in Shelby County. During the processing for that deportation, ICE learned from the U.S. Embassy in Mexico that Avila was wanted for the 2007 murder of a 22-year-old man. He was also reported to be a known member of the Paisas gang.
"In the more than 30 years that I’ve worked in immigration enforcement, I’m not sure I’ve ever come across a more egregious offender or a better example of why immigration enforcement is so critical to maintaining public safety," said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston Field Office Director Bret Bradford.