ICE Removes War Criminal and Terrorist to Ethiopia

ICE News Releases

Filed March 10th, 2026

Detected March 14th, 2026

Summary

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the removal of Solomon Bogale, a member of the Ethiopian paramilitary organization Fano, to Ethiopia. Bogale was found to have called for ethnic cleansing and was denied immigration benefits.

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What changed

ICE has removed Solomon Bogale, identified as a member of the Fano paramilitary organization and a terrorist group designated by the Ethiopian government, to Ethiopia. Bogale entered the U.S. without inspection in September 2023 and was subsequently found to have used social media to advocate for the persecution and "cleansing" of ethnic Tigrayans. An immigration judge denied him benefits, and ICE's Office of the Principal Legal Advisor litigated the case.

This action highlights ICE's ongoing efforts to remove individuals suspected of human rights violations and terrorism. The Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center plays a key role in identifying and prosecuting such individuals. While no specific compliance actions are required for regulated entities, this case underscores the importance of robust due diligence and the consequences for individuals involved in severe human rights abuses.

Source document (simplified)

March 10, 2026 Eloy, AZ, United States Human Rights Violators

ICE removes violent paramilitary war criminal and terrorist to Ethiopia

ELOY, Ariz. — On March 4, ICE removed Solomon Bogale, a member of the deadly paramilitary organization Fano, back to Ethiopia. Fano has been designated as a terrorist group by the Ethiopian government.

Bogale, a native and citizen of Ethiopia, entered the United States on Sept. 16, 2023, without inspection. U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountered him two days later and instituted removal proceedings.

“Our officers continue to effect the removal of suspected human rights violators to their home countries,” said ERO Phoenix acting Field Office Director Christopher McGregor. “ERO officers are committed to public safety and national security, and removing this individual from the United States serves both those priorities.”

An immigration judge in Baltimore, Maryland, denied Bogale immigration benefits after ICE discovered numerous social media accounts where he openly identified himself as a member of Fano, a Tier III terrorist group. In his posts, Bogale called for the persecution of and violence against ethnic Tigrayans through their “cleansing” from Ethiopia. The case was litigated by ICE’s Office of the Principal Legal Advisor in Baltimore with help from the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center.

The HSI-led Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center furthers the government’s efforts to identify, locate and prosecute human rights abusers in the U.S., including those who are known or suspected to have participated in persecution, war crimes, genocide, torture, extrajudicial killings, female genital mutilation or the use or recruitment of child soldiers. Since 2003, ICE has arrested more than 520 people for human rights-related violations of the law under various criminal and immigration statutes. During the same period, ICE obtained deportation orders against — and physically removed from the United States — 1,178 known or suspected human rights violators and facilitated the departures of an additional 208. The Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center has issued more than 80,000 lookouts for potential perpetrators of human rights abuses and has stopped over 415 human rights violators and war crimes suspects from entering the U.S.

If you have information about potential former human rights violators in the United States, contact U.S. law enforcement through the ICE Tip Line at 866-DHS-2-ICE or by filling out the online tip form. You can also email HRV.ICE@ice.dhs.gov.

Updated:

03/13/2026