ERO Boston arrests Colombian national convicted locally of domestic assault

BOSTON — Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston apprehended an unlawfully present 43-year-old Colombian national twice convicted of assault and battery on a family or household member. Deportation officers from ERO Boston arrested Elkin Arturo Yarce-Munera July 18 in Boston.

“Elkin Arturo Yarce-Munera has proven, more than once, to be a threat to the safety our Massachusetts residents,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons. “We cannot allow this to continue while we have the means to prevent it. ERO Boston will continue to prioritize public safety by apprehending and removing egregious noncitizen offenders from our New England neighborhoods.”

U.S. Border Patrol apprehended Yarce May 1, 2022, after he unlawfully entered the United States near Brownsville, Texas.

Border Patrol officials served Yarce a notice to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge May 2, 2022. Later that day, U.S. Border Patrol released Yarce on an order of recognizance.

On Jan. 17, 2023, Yarce was arraigned in the Chelsea District Court for assault and battery on a family or household member.

Yarce was again arraigned at the Chelsea District Court March 3, 2023, for assault and battery family or household member and Abuse Prevention Act violation. Later that day, ERO Boston lodged an immigration detainer against Yarce with Chelsea District Court.

The Nashua Street Jail in Boston did not honor ERO Boston’s immigration detainer and released Yarce from custody April 28, 2023.

ERO Boston lodged an immigration detainer, against Yarce Oct. 10, 2023, with East Boston District Court.

The Chelsea District Court convicted Yarce Dec. 5, 2023, of two counts of assault and battery family or household member and for Abuse Prevention Act violation.

The East Boston District Court Subject did not honor ERO Boston’s immigration detainer and released Yarce from custody Dec. 18, 2023.

Boston police arrested Yarce and charged him with making a false statement on an application and forgery. Yarce was arraigned at the Boston District Court May 10 on those charges.

Deportation officers with ERO Boston arrested Yarce July 18 and took him into custody. At the time of his arrest, Yarce was in possession of fraudulent U.S. social security and U.S. permanent resident cards. Yarce remains in ERO custody.

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 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 the 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 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 noncitizen 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.