ERO Boston apprehends Colombian national charged with sex crimes against Rhode Island resident

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston arrested an unlawfully present Colombian national charged with four counts of sexual assault and one count of assaulting someone with a mental handicap. Deportation officers from ERO Boston’s Providence field office apprehended Rigberto Hoyos-Alban, 33, in Cranston May 22.

“Rigberto Hoyos-Alban has been charged with four counts of sexual assault and one count of assault against a person with a severe mental handicap,” said ERO New England Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons. “This is not the type of individual we want walking the streets of our New England neighborhoods. ERO Boston will continue to prioritize the safety of our public by apprehending and removing violent noncitizens from our communities.”

U.S. Border Patrol arrested Hoyos-Alban near Rio Grande Valley, Texas, Nov. 21, 2023, after he unlawfully entered the United States without having been inspected, admitted or paroled by a U.S. immigration official. Border Patrol officials issued Hoyos-Alban a notice to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge and released Hoyos-Alban on his own recognizance.

Officers from the Central Falls Police Department arrested Hoyos-Alban March 13 and charged him with two counts of sexual assault in the first degree, two counts of sexual assault in the second degree, and one count of felony assault on a person mentally impaired.

Deportation officers from ERO Boston’s Providence field office lodged an immigration detainer against Hoyos-Alban with the Rhode Island Adult Correctional Institute March 14. However, the facility did not honor the immigration detainer and released Hoyos-Alban from custody.

Deportation officers from ERO Boston’s Providence field office apprehended Hoyos-Alban in Cranston May 22. Hoyos-Alban will remain in ERO custody pending the outcome of his removal proceedings.

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 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 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. This 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.