ERO Boston apprehends Guatemalan citizen arrested locally for first-degree child molestation

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston apprehended an unlawfully present Guatemalan national recently arrested by Rhode Island police on first-degree child molestation and domestic assault charges. ERO Boston officers in Providence arrested the 22-year-old Guatemalan national April 10. Local judicial authorities released the Guatemalan citizen from custody before ERO Boston was provided an opportunity to assume his custody.

“This unlawfully present individual was arrested locally on first degree child molestation charges and was released back into the community despite an immigration detainer,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons. “We believe it is in the interest of the community that jurisdictions honor our immigration detainers so that ICE can take direct custody of individuals like this who pose a threat to residents. ERO Boston hopes to cooperate with our local partners in Rhode Island to help make safer neighborhoods for everyone in the state and throughout New England.”

On Nov. 16, 2018, U. S. Border Patrol apprehended the Guatemalan national after he attempted to enter the United States without authorization in Nogales, Arizona. After being served with a notice to appear before an immigration judge at a future date, he was released from custody with an order of recognizance Jan. 5, 2019.

On Nov. 21, 2022, the Providence Police Department issued an arrest warrant for the Guatemalan national for the child molestation and sexual assault charges.

On Feb. 28, 2024, Providence police arrested him on domestic assault charges and the outstanding warrant. The charges remain pending with the Rhode Island Sixth District Court.

Following his arrest and booking into custody at the Adult Correctional Institution in Cranston, ERO Boston officers in Warwick lodged an immigration detainer against him.

On April 10, despite the active immigration detainer, the Guatemalan national was released onto the streets of Providence by order of the Sixth District Court of Rhode Island. Later that day, ERO Boston deportation officers in Rhode Island arrested him without incident in Providence. He will be held in ICE custody pending a future hearing before a Department of Justice immigration judge.

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 (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 DOJ’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 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.