ICE Arrests MS-13 Gang Member with Violent Past

STRASBURG, Va. — Federal agents have taken a violent criminal off the streets after arresting a Salvadoran national with deep ties to the MS-13 terrorist organization. Cristian Medrano-Umanzor, 34, was apprehended by ICE Homeland Security Investigations and Strasburg Police Department officers on January 24.

The arrest comes after years of criminal activity that authorities say make Medrano-Umanzor a clear threat to public safety. His criminal record includes drug trafficking, resisting arrest, and multiple instances of illegally reentering the United States after deportation.

“The streets will be safer now that Cristian Medrano-Umanzor has been arrested,” said HSI Washington, D.C. Special Agent in Charge Eric Weindorf. “His history of criminal conduct make him subject to removal from the United States.”

According to federal records, Medrano-Umanzor first entered the United States illegally before 2005, when he applied for temporary protected status. That application was approved in 2006, but his subsequent criminal activities rendered him ineligible to remain in the country.

Between June 2010 and July 2016, Medrano-Umanzor was arrested multiple times for crimes including possession and distribution of narcotics, failure to obey a court order, and failure to appear for court proceedings. In April 2018, an immigration judge ordered his removal to El Salvador, which ICE carried out on May 11, 2018.

Despite being deported, Medrano-Umanzor illegally reentered the United States, where the U.S. Border Patrol arrested him on September 19, 2019, near Rio Grande City, Texas. Federal prosecutors convicted him of illegal reentry of a deported alien on March 10, 2020, leading to another deportation to El Salvador.

Authorities say Medrano-Umanzor managed to reenter the country again during what officials describe as the Biden administration’s open border policies, before his recent arrest by HSI and local police. He remains in federal custody pending removal proceedings.

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