ERO Boston arrests convicted fugitive wanted for assaulting, threatening minor in Brazil

BOSTON — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston arrested an unlawfully present female foreign fugitive who is wanted by law enforcement authorities after being convicted of assaulting and threatening a minor child in Brazil. Officers in Worcester, Massachusetts, apprehended the 35-year-old citizen of Brazil Nov. 30. She unlawfully entered the U.S. in September 2021.

“Foreign fugitives who attempt to hide in our region to avoid the punishments they have been handed in their native country will be aggressively pursued, detained, and removed.” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons. “This convicted foreign fugitive was successfully apprehended and will now have to face the consequences of her actions. ERO Boston remains committed to removing these individuals from our New England communities. Our team will apprehend them and make sure they face justice.”

In 2014, the Brazilian native was convicted of bodily injury and making violent threats against a minor by a criminal court in the city of Acucena, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Brazilian law enforcement authorities have sought custody of the fugitive to serve the sentence for her conviction in Brazil.

The Brazilian national unlawfully entered the United States in September 2021 near San Luis, Arizona. She was detained by U.S. Border Patrol and placed into removal proceedings. Following an immigration hearing, she was ordered removed by a federal immigration judge May 18, 2023.

After being made aware of the Brazilian native’s presence within the its area of responsibility, ERO Boston arrested the fugitive without incident in Worcester Nov. 30. She will remain in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) custody pending her removal to Brazil.

ERO conducts removals of individuals without a lawful basis to remain in the United States, including at the order of immigration judges with the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). EOIR is a separate entity from the Department of Homeland Security and ICE. Immigration judges in these courts make decisions based on the merits of each individual case, determining if a noncitizen is subject to a final order of removal or eligible for certain forms of relief from removal.

In fiscal year 2022, ERO arrested 46,396 noncitizens with criminal histories. This group had 198,498 associated charges and convictions, including 21,531 assault offenses; 8,164 sex and sexual assault offenses; 5,554 weapons offenses; 1,501 homicide-related offenses; and 1,114 kidnapping offenses.

As one of ICE’s three operational directorates, ERO is the principal federal law enforcement authority in charge of domestic immigration enforcement. ERO’s mission is to protect the homeland through the arrest and removal of those who undermine the safety of U.S. communities and the integrity of U.S. immigration laws, and its primary areas of focus are interior enforcement operations, management of the agency’s detained and non-detained populations and the repatriation of noncitizens who have received final orders of removal. ERO’s workforce consists of more than 7,700 law enforcement and non-law enforcement support personnel across 25 domestic field offices and 208 locations nationwide, 30 overseas postings and multiple temporary duty travel assignments along the border.

Members of the public can report crime and suspicious activity by calling 866-347-2423 or completing the online tip form.

Source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE.gov)