ERO Boston apprehends Brazilian national charged locally with assault, weapons crimes

BOSTON — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston apprehended an unlawfully present Brazilian national who has been charged in Worcester with assault and weapons charges. Deportation officers from ERO Boston arrested the 21-year-old Brazilian native April 5 in Worcester. A local court ignored a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) immigration detainer and released the unlawfully present noncitizen from custody.

“When local jurisdictions ignore immigration detainers, they increase the threat to residents in the community,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons. “This individual was subsequently arrested and charged with egregious crimes; still, the local jurisdiction refused to honor our detainer and released him to potentially reoffend. ERO Boston will continue to prioritize public safety throughout our New England neighborhoods.”

U. S. Border Patrol arrested the Brazilian national in March 2019 after he unlawfully entered the U.S. near Santa Teresa, New Mexico. He was released by Border Patrol on recognizance after being served with a notice to appear before a Department of Justice (DOJ) immigration judge.

In October 2022, the unlawfully present Brazilian national was arrested and arraigned in Danbury, Connecticut, for the offense of criminal trespass and breach of peace. He was detained at the Bridgeport Correctional Center in Bridgeport, Connecticut, while awaiting extradition to Massachusetts. ERO Boston lodged an immigration detainer against the Brazilian national Oct. 24, 2022, with the Bridgeport Correctional Center.

On Oct. 26, 2022, following his extradition to Massachusetts, the Brazilian national was arraigned at the Worcester District Court for assault with a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm, ammunition without a firearms identity card, and for discharging a firearm within five hundred feet of a dwelling. He was detained at the Worcester House of Correction. ERO Boston lodged an updated detainer against unlawfully present Brazilian citizen with the Worcester House of Correction on Oct. 31, 2022.

Despite the existence of an active immigration detainer issued by ERO Boston, the Brazilian national was released from the Worcester County House of Corrections on an unknown date, ERO Boston was provided no notification of his release back into the community.

On April 5, 2024, deportation officers from ERO Boston arrested the 21-year-old Brazilian native without incident in Worcester, Massachusetts. He will be held in ICE custody pending a future hearing before an immigration judge

As part of its mission to identify and arrest removable noncitizens, ERO lodges immigration detainers against noncitizens who have been arrested for criminal activity and taken into custody by state or local law enforcement. An immigration detainer is a request from ICE to state or local law enforcement agencies to notify ICE as early as possible before a removable noncitizen is released from their custody. Detainers request that state or local law enforcement agencies maintain custody of the noncitizen for a period not to exceed 48 hours beyond the time the individual would otherwise be released, allowing ERO to assume custody for removal purposes in accordance with federal law.

Detainers are critical public safety tools because they focus enforcement resources on removable noncitizens who have been arrested for criminal activity. Detainers increase the safety of all parties involved — ERO personnel, law enforcement officials, removable noncitizens and the public — by allowing an arrest to be made in a secure and controlled custodial setting as opposed to at-large within the community. Because detainers result in the direct transfer of a noncitizen from state or local custody to ERO custody, they also minimize the potential that an individual will reoffend. Additionally, detainers conserve scarce government resources by allowing ERO to take criminal noncitizens into custody directly rather than expending resources locating these individuals at-large.

ERO conducts removals of individuals without a lawful basis to remain in the United States, including at the order of immigration judges with DOJ’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.

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 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 with information regarding child sex offenders can report crimes or suspicious activity by dialing the ICE Tip Line at 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.

Learn more about ERO Boston’s mission to increase public safety in our New England communities on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @EROBoston.

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