HOUSTON – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported two Mexican nationals wanted by authorities in Mexico in connection with separate homicide cases, transferring both men to Mexican custody at the U.S.-Mexico border.
ICE identified the men as Agustin Morales-Renteria and Juan Becerra Ruiz, both 24. Mexican authorities sought Morales-Renteria on an aggravated homicide charge, while Becerra Ruiz was wanted in connection with an intentional homicide case.
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Deportation officers from ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston Field Office transported the two men from the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe, Texas, to the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge in Laredo on July 21.
Mexican authorities assumed custody of both men at the border, allowing them to face the criminal proceedings pending against them in Mexico.
Gabriel Martinez, acting field office director for ERO Houston, said the removals demonstrate the agency’s focus on locating foreign fugitives and individuals considered public safety threats.
Martinez said cooperation between ICE and other law enforcement agencies resulted in the two men being returned to Mexico, where authorities can pursue the homicide allegations against them.
Morales-Renteria first entered the United States unlawfully around September 21, 2021, according to ICE. He was expelled that same day under Title 42, the public health authority used at the border during the COVID-19 pandemic.
ICE said Morales-Renteria subsequently reentered the United States without authorization.
On October 19, 2021, a regional attorney general’s office in Mexico issued an arrest warrant accusing him of aggravated homicide.
Federal immigration authorities encountered Morales-Renteria again on December 4, 2024, at the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office in Missouri following his arrest on charges of tampering with a motor vehicle and felony possession of a controlled substance.
According to ICE, no immigration enforcement action was taken against him at that time.
His case later returned to federal authorities. On November 4, 2025, Morales-Renteria was convicted of possessing a firearm while unlawfully present in the United States and sentenced to 18 months in federal prison.
After completing his sentence, he was transferred to ICE custody on May 21. An immigration judge ordered his removal from the United States on July 2, and ICE carried out the order on July 21.
Becerra Ruiz’s case followed a different path.
According to ICE, he entered the United States unlawfully at an unknown date and location.
Authorities in Querétaro, Mexico, issued a warrant for his arrest on October 21, 2022, in connection with an intentional homicide case.
In May 2026, U.S. Border Patrol officials received information from Mexican authorities regarding the outstanding warrant and Becerra Ruiz’s suspected location in the Houston area.
Border Patrol agents detained him during a traffic stop in Spring, Texas, on June 4 and subsequently transferred him to ICE custody.
An immigration judge ordered Becerra Ruiz removed to Mexico on June 30. ICE completed the removal on July 21, when Mexican authorities took custody of him at the border.
The two cases illustrate cooperation between U.S. immigration authorities and foreign law enforcement agencies in locating and returning individuals wanted on serious criminal charges in their home countries.
ICE encourages members of the public with information concerning foreign fugitives or other potential immigration and criminal violations to contact federal authorities through the agency’s tip line.
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