El Paso Standard

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has deported Josseth Santos-Fonseca, 30, back to Costa Rica. Santos-Fonseca, a Costa Rican national, was deported because he is wanted by Costa Rican authorities on a drug trafficking conviction.

Santos-Fonseca initially entered the United States near Laredo, Texas, bypassing inspection and admission by immigration officials. The U.S. Border Patrol apprehended him on November 8, 2018. Subsequent to his apprehension, ICE received information from Costa Rican authorities confirming his conviction for drug smuggling. Following an immigration judge's order for his removal, the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Seattle office executed his deportation without incident.

Cammilla H. Wamsley, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Seattle Interim Field Office Director, stated, “ERO Seattle continues to work with our international partners to ensure criminal aliens are unable to find refuge in the U.S. from justice in their home country." She further noted that "drug trafficking is a serious offense, and the risk it presents will always be a motivator for our officers to locate and arrest those wanted in their country of origin.”

ICE encourages the public to report information about foreign fugitives by contacting the ICE Tip Line at 1 (866) 347-2423 or internationally at 001-1802-872-6199. Tips can also be submitted online through ICE’s online tip form.

For more details about ICE’s efforts to enhance public safety, visit their page on X at @EROSeattle.