ERO Boston apprehends Colombian national convicted of sex crimes against a California minor

BOSTON — Enforcement and Removal Operations apprehended a Colombian noncitizen April 2 who was convicted of sex crimes against a California minor. Deportation officers from ERO Boston arrested the 23-year-old noncitizen sex offender in Revere.

“This child sex offender’s presence in Massachusetts constitutes a significant threat to the children of our communities,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons. “He victimized a child in California before moving to Massachusetts. We simply cannot allow him to reoffend and abuse a child here. ERO Boston will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing noncitizen sex predators from New England.”

The Colombian national was admitted to the United States May 22, 2021, through Los Angeles as a nonimmigrant with authorization to remain in the United States for a temporary period. The noncitizen violated the terms of his visa when he remained in the United States after Nov. 20, 2021, without authorization from the Department of Homeland Security.

On Dec. 6, 2022, the Victorville Courthouse in Victorville, California, convicted him of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor more than three years younger and sentenced him to three years of imprisonment for that offense. The court also convicted him of oral copulation of a person under 18 and sentenced him to one year of imprisonment.

The ICE Pacific Enforcement Response Center submitted a request for advance notification of release to the San Bernardino County-West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, California, requesting advanced notification of the Colombian sex offender’s release.

On an unknown date, the noncitizen sex offender from California was released from state custody. Regarding this matter, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office was hampered in its ability to assist in the case, due to California state law limiting local law enforcement cooperation with ICE.

The Colombian sex offender moved to Massachusetts on an unknown date.

On April 2, deportation officers from ERO Boston took him into custody and served him with a warrant for his arrest and a notice to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge. The Colombian noncitizen will remain in ICE custody pending his removal proceedings.

As part of its mission to identify and arrest removable noncitizens, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 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 a critical public safety tool 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 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.

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 are encouraged to 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.