Dominican felon arrested by ERO Boston receives 30 months in federal prison for unlawful reentry into US

BOSTON — An unlawfully present, 50-year-old Dominican national apprehended by Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for unlawfully reentering the United States after removal. Felix Reinardo Nunez-Guerrero received the 30-month federal prison sentence July 15 at the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

“Felix Reinardo Nunez-Guerrero has repeatedly unlawfully entered the United States and broken our laws,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons. “His blatant disregard for public safety has proven him to be a significant threat to the Massachusetts community. ERO Boston will continue to prioritize the welfare of our residents by aggressively apprehending and removing the most egregious noncitizen offenders.”

U.S. Border Patrol arrested Nunez Sept. 7, 1999, after he unlawfully entered the United States near El Paso, Texas. Border Patrol officials served Nunez a notice to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge and turned custody of Nunez over to the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service released Nunez from custody Oct. 15, 1999, on bond.

On Oct. 20, 2000, a Department of Justice immigration judge in Boston ordered Nunez removed from the United States to the Dominican Republic.

Between Oct 30, 2008 and Dec. 27, 2019, authorities arrested Nunez on numerous occasions and convicted him of intimidation, twice giving false addresses with the intent to hinder police, possession of a Class B controlled substance, assault and battery dangerous weapon-handgun, assault dangerous weapon-chemical spray, noncitizen unlawfully in the United States in possession of a firearm and ammunition and a forfeiture allegation, and unlawfully reentering the United States after previous deportation.

ERO removed Nunez from the United States to the Dominican Republic on four occasions: March 25, 2009; July 21, 2015; March 6, 2019; and Aug. 4, 2020.

Nunez unlawfully entered the United States without being inspected, admitted or paroled by a U.S. immigration official on at least five occasions.

Police in Lawrence arrested Nunez Nov. 10, 2023, for assault and battery on a family/household member/intimate partner. The next day, ERO Boston lodged an immigration detainer against Nunez.

On March 29, 2024, Nunez pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts to unlawful reentry after being deported.

On July 15, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts sentenced Nunez to 30 months in federal prison.

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 Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review. The Executive Office for Immigration Review is a separate entity from the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 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.

Members of the public with information regarding noncitizen 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.

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.

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