Wanted for crimes in their home countries, many single adult males are included among the migrants flooding into the state.
As Massachusetts continues to see an influx of migrants, a rise in crime is sure to follow. While the Healey-Driscoll administration is making pleas to the public to house families fleeing from violence, they are leaving out the much larger group of people who are flooding our state: single adult males. If a person does not have a child or is not pregnant, they do not qualify for shelter under the Massachusetts “Right to Shelter” law but are nevertheless allowed to remain in the state. This leaves an unknown number of individuals residing in Massachusetts with an unclear picture if they have a criminal history.
On September 19th, 2023, the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) department, which is a part of the U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), arrested a Guatemalan citizen who was unlawfully present in the United States on charges of aggravated rape and indecent assault and battery on a child.
According to the ERO:
“The 37-year-old Guatemalan citizen unlawfully entered the United States and was apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol near the Northern Border in Richford, Vermont, in April 2016. He was transferred into ICE custody and subsequently released on an immigration bond pending removal proceedings. In December 2022, local police arrested the Guatemalan native and he was arraigned in the district court in Salem on charges of indecent assault and battery on a child and rape of a child with force. In March 2023, the case was transferred to Essex County Superior Court, where he was arraigned on two counts of aggravated rape of a child.
Despite ERO Boston’s issuance of an immigration detainer seeking custody of the Guatemalan native, he was released under house arrest conditions with an electronic monitoring device following his arraignment and pending a court hearing on his charges. On Sept. 19, ERO Boston officers arrested him as an individual amenable to removal under federal immigration law. ERO Boston will seek his removal, and he will remain in ICE custody pending a hearing before a federal immigration judge.[i]
An important detail about the arrest was reported by The Boston Herald in an article published on September 22, 2023:
“At some point while under house arrest conditions, Chim was able to obtain a state-issued driver’s license (emphasis added), which a law enforcement source shared with the Herald. It was access to his motor vehicle records that allowed ICE to find this man suspected of indecent assault and battery on a child, and rape of a child with force.”[ii]
In July 2023, the Massachusetts Work and Family Mobility Act opened the door to allow immigrants to apply for a state driver’s license and get a car. When applying for a license, the state has protections in place not to share any information with ICE unless a judge signs a court order or warrant.[iii] This protection is in place to curb the fear of deportation. It also prevents agencies from accessing the information they need to prevent criminals from walking the streets.
Other recent ERO arrests around Massachusetts:
-On Tuesday, September 19th, 2023, the Enforcement and Removal Operations from ICE arrested twenty-nine-year-old, Pereira Ramos in Braintree, MA. He is wanted for attempted murder in Brazil.[iv]
-On September 12th, 2023, an unlawfully present fugitive was arrested by ERO in Plymouth, MA. He was convicted in Brazil on felony firearms charges and was being sought after by Brazilian authorities.[v]
-On August 14th, 2023, in Rye, NH, a small town of approximately 5,500 people an hour outside of Boston, twenty-nine-year-old Antonia Jose De Abreu Filho was apprehended. He was sentenced in Brazil to a 275-year prison sentence for eleven murders, attempted murder, and physical and mental torture. He was in the United States when the Brazilian jury convicted him, so an Interpol Red Notice was put out for his capture.[vi]
Charlie W.
Sources:
[i] https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ero-boston-arrests-unlawfully-present-guatemalan-citizen-charged-rape-child
[ii] https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/09/22/suspected-child-rapist-arrested-by-ice-through-massachusetts-rmv-records/
[iii] https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/25-investigates-ma-barring-ice-accessing-rmv-records-without-warrant-or-court-order/B6TVZ6Q4JFCXPDAW2XJSA7QM2U/
[iv] https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/09/21/brazilian-wanted-for-murder-in-home-country-arrested-by-ice-boston/?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_content=tw-bostonherald
[v] https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ero-boston-arrests-fugitive-wanted-felony-firearms-charges-brazil
[vi] https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/08/16/boston-ice-agents-catch-brazilian-illegal-immigrant-wanted-for-11-murders/?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_content=tw-bostonherald&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_medium=social
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