ERO Boston arrests Chinese national charged with sex crimes against Massachusetts residents

BOSTON — Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston apprehended an unlawfully present 43-year-old Chinese national charged with sex crimes against Massachusetts residents. Deportation officers with ERO Boston arrested Yao Zhang July 5 in Medford.

“Yao Zhang has been charged with some serious and disturbing crimes against inhabitants of our Massachusetts neighborhoods,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons. “He represents a threat to residents that our officers cannot allow to continue. ERO Boston will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing egregious noncitizen offenders from our New England communities.”

U.S. Border Patrol arrested Zhang Sept. 26, 2019, after he unlawfully entered the United States.

On Oct. 26, 2019, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued Zhang a notice to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge.

ERO Oakdale released Zhang Dec. 13, 2019, on an immigration bond.

The Dedham District Court arraigned Zhang May 6, 2022, on three counts of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 years old.

The Cambridge District Court arraigned Zhang April 3 on the charge of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 years old. Later that day, ERO Boston lodged an immigration detainer against Zhang with the Middlesex County Sherriff's Department.

The Cambridge District Court, arraigned Zhang May 31 on charges of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 years old.

Deportation officers with ERO Boston arrested Zhang July 5 in Medford. ERO Boston cancelled Zhang’s immigration bond. Zhang remains in ERO custody. ERO Boston intends to hold Zhang pending his next immigration court hearing based on his current criminal charges.

Noncitizens who are apprehended by ICE have their case reviewed by an ICE officer to determine their custody status. Noncitizens subject to mandatory detention are placed in ICE detention facilities, while those who are released constitute ERO’s non-detained docket. ICE officers weigh a variety of factors when making general custody determinations, including criminal record, immigration history, community ties, flight risk, and whether the individual poses a potential threat to public safety or national security.

ICE detention is not punitive, and ICE uses its limited detention resources to detain noncitizens to secure their presence for immigration proceedings or removal from the United States, as well as to detain those who are subject to mandatory detention or for whom an ICE officer determines a public safety threat or flight risk is present. Every case, whether detained or non-detained, remains part of ERO’s caseload and is actively managed and monitored until it is formally closed.

ICE takes many factors into account when targeting and arresting individuals, including their criminal and immigration history. ICE conducts an individualized determination in each case to assess whether arrest and removal is warranted. This determination includes an assessment of whether the person is removable under the law, as well as other aggravating and mitigating factors. ICE is committed to enforcing immigration laws humanely, effectively, and with professionalism.

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. The Executive Office for Immigration Review is a separate entity from the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 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.

Members of the public with information regarding noncitizen 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.

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.

Learn more about ERO Boston’s mission to increase public safety in our New England communities on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @EROBoston.