U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced today the removal of Wilver Cota-Ortiz, 43, a citizen of El Salvador, to his home country, where law enforcement authorities want him for human trafficking.
Cota initially entered the U.S. at an unknown date and location without inspection or admission by an immigration official. His first encounter with law enforcement in the United States occurred on Jan. 9, 2010, when the Dallas Police Department arrested him for assault with a deadly weapon.
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The following day, ICE placed an immigration detainer on Cota. He was subsequently convicted on two counts of assault by the 195th Judicial District Court in Dallas on April 1, 2010, and sentenced to eight years of probation.
Following his conviction, custody was transferred to ICE, and Cota was removed to El Salvador on Dec. 17, 2010, as ordered by an immigration judge.
Cota later reentered the U.S. at an unknown date and location. On Aug. 6, 2013, he was apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol in Otay Mesa, California, where authorities discovered an active warrant for his probation violation in Dallas.
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The 195th Judicial District Court convicted Cota of the probation violation and sentenced him to two years of incarceration. After serving his time, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Correction Facility in Huntsville transferred custody to the United States Marshal Service, who then transferred him back to ICE under an immigration detainer. Cota was removed to El Salvador for a second time on Dec. 18, 2015.
Undeterred, Cota once again reentered the U.S. at an unknown date and location. This time, ICE arrested him on Feb. 15, 2023, for illegal reentry. The U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware convicted him of this charge on Oct. 31, 2023, and sentenced him to nine months of incarceration.
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While Cota was serving his sentence in federal prison, authorities discovered that he was wanted in El Salvador for the serious crime of human trafficking. His removal to El Salvador was completed without incident on April 4.
“ICE will make every effort to arrest those that have fled to the U.S. to evade justice in their home country,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Seattle Interim Field Office Director Cammilla H. Wamsley. “The seriousness of these charges places a particular importance on that mission.”
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