ERO Boston apprehends Dominican national convicted of drug charge in Connecticut

BOSTON — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston apprehended an unlawfully present Dominican national convicted of a felony drug charge in Connecticut. Deportation officers from ERO Boston’s Hartford suboffice arrested the 32-year-old Dominican national near his residence in Waterbury, Connecticut, March 12. The arrest of the Dominican citizen was part of ICE ’s nationwide law enforcement operation focused on arrests of unlawfully present drug offenders The national operation took place from March 11 through March 26, and resulted in the apprehension of 275 unlawfully present drug offenders.

“Noncitizens convicted of felony drug crimes present a serious threat to public safety,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons. “This arrest highlights our continued focus on the apprehension and removal of unlawfully present noncitizens who seek to profit from the drug epidemic that has devastated so many New England communities. ERO Boston will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing the most egregious noncitizen offenders.”

The Dominican national was admitted into the United States in October 2007 by U.S. Customs and Borders Protection.

In April 2021, he was arrested by Connecticut’s Waterbury Police Department for the charge of possession with intent to sell or dispense narcotics (cocaine), a felony offense.

In February 2023, he was convicted in Connecticut Superior Court at Waterbury, Connecticut, sentenced to five years’ incarceration that was subsequently reduced to three years’ probation, and he was released by the court back into the community.

As a result of his narcotics trafficking conviction, the terms of the residency status the Dominican native had derived were violated, and he was classified as amenable to removal under U.S. federal immigration law.

Deportation officers from ERO Boston’s Hartford suboffice arrested the Dominican drug offender near his residence in Waterbury, Connecticut, March 12. They served him with a notice to appear before a Department of Justice (DOJ) immigration judge. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.

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 DHS 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 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) 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 can report crime and suspicious activity by calling 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the ICE 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.