ERO Baltimore arrests Guatemalan national convicted of sex crimes against Maryland minor

BALTIMORE — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Baltimore apprehended an unlawfully present Guatemalan national who was convicted of sex crimes against a Maryland minor. Deportation officers from ERO Baltimore’s Fugitive Operations Team arrested Raul Calderon-Interiano, 25, near his residence in Baltimore May 29.

“Raul Calderon-Interiano was convicted of sex crimes against a local child and posed a significant threat to other Maryland children,” said ERO Baltimore acting Field Office Director Matthew Elliston. “We will not tolerate the residents of our communities to be victimized by unlawfully present sex offenders. The women and men of ERO Baltimore will continue to prioritize the safety of our public by aggressively arresting and removing noncitizen predators from our neighborhoods.”

U.S. Border Patrol encountered Calderon-Interiano as an unaccompanied minor near Laredo, Texas, June 19, 2014, after he unlawfully entered the United States without being inspected, admitted or paroled by a U.S. immigration official. USBP served Calderon-Interiano a notice to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge.

On June 22, 2014, U.S. Border Patrol transferred Calderon-Interiano into the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement in San Antonio, Texas.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement released Calderon-Interiano Nov. 8, 2014, into the custody of a sponsor who resided in Maryland.

On Oct. 8, 2015, a Department of Justice immigration judge in Baltimore ordered Calderon-Interiano removed from the United States to Guatemala in absentia.

The Baltimore County Police Department arrested Calderon-Interiano Jan. 23, 2023, and charged him with sex abuse minor: house/fam, attempted sex abuse minor: house/fam, attempted sex offense third degree, sex offense third degree, and two counts of assault second degree.

Later that day, ERO Baltimore lodged an immigration detainer against Calderon-Interiano with the Baltimore County Detention Center.

On April 10, 2024, the Circuit Court for Baltimore County convicted him of sex offense 4th degree-sex contact and assault second degree. The court sentenced him to a total of six years in prison followed by five years of probation. The court then suspended all Calderon-Interiano’s prison time. The court also ordered him to register as a Tier 1 sex offender.

On an unknown date, the Baltimore County Detention Center refused to honor ERO Baltimore’s immigration detainer and released Calderon-Interiano from custody.

ERO Baltimore’s Fugitive Operations Team arrested him near his residence in Baltimore May 29 and transported him to the ERO Baltimore field office for processing. Calderon-Interiano will remain in ICE custody pending his removal from the United States.

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 the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). EOIR 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 can report crimes or suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the ICE 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 Baltimore’s mission to increase public safety in our Maryland communities on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @EROBaltimore.