ERO Boston apprehends MS-13 member charged locally with assaulting police, family members

BOSTON — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston arrested a Salvadoran national charged locally with assault and battery on a police officer, resisting arrest, and assault and battery on a family or household member. Deportation officers with ERO Boston apprehended the 27-year-old noncitizen March 28 near his residence in Chelsea. He is a documented member of the notorious MS-13 transnational street gang.

“This Salvadoran noncitizen was not only a member of a violent street gang. He was a threat to our Massachusetts residents,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons. “We are constantly on these streets apprehending the worst of the worst. ERO Boston will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing the most egregious noncitizen offenders from our New England communities.”

U.S. Border Patrol officials apprehended the Salvadoran noncitizen Nov. 22, 2014, near Rio Grande Valley, Texas, after he unlawfully entered the United States without being inspected, admitted or paroled by a U.S. immigration official. The agents issued the noncitizen a notice to appear before a Department of Justice (DOJ) immigration judge and placed him into removal proceedings.

ICE released him Nov. 25, 2014, on an order of recognizance pending removal proceedings.

The Chelsea Police Department arrested him June 26, 2016, for carrying a dangerous weapon-knife over 4x1 inches.

ICE arrested the Salvadoran national in Chelsea Nov. 1, 2016.

A DOJ immigration judge ordered him removed from the United States to El Salvador Aug. 25, 2017, a decision the Salvadoran national appealed.

ICE released him on an order of supervision May 25, 2018.

ERO Baltimore arrested the Salvadoran noncitizen Oct. 10, 2021, in Catonsville, Maryland, and revoked his order of supervision.

ERO removed the Salvadoran gang member from the United States to El Salvador Oct. 22, 2021.

The Salvadoran gang member unlawfully reentered the United States on an unknown date at an unknown location without having been inspected, admitted or paroled by a U.S. immigration official.

On May 2, 2023, the Chelsea Police Department arrested him and ERO Boston lodged an immigration detainer against him.

On May 9, 2023, the Chelsea District Court refused to honor ERO Boston’s immigration detainer and released the Salvadoran gang member on bail.

The Chelsea District Court arraigned him Nov. 21, 2023, for the offenses of assault and battery on a police officer, resisting arrest, and assault and battery on a family or household member.

The Pacific Enforcement Response Center lodged an immigration detainer against the Salvadoran gang member with the Chelsea Police Department Nov. 21, 2023.

The court system ignored the ICE immigration detainer and released him.

Deportation officers with ERO Boston apprehended the Salvadoran noncitizen March 28, 2024, near his residence in Chelsea. He will remain in ERO custody pending his removal from the United States.

The Pacific Enforcement Response Center uses technology and best practices to deliver real-time leads and referrals to increase the operational efficiency of ERO’s targeted enforcement actions.

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 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 arrests to be made in a secure and controlled custodial setting as opposed to at-large within the community. Since 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 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.