ERO Boston arrests Dominican national charged with kidnapping, sex crimes against Massachusetts resident

BOSTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston apprehended an unlawfully present 46-year-old Dominican noncitizen charged with of assault to rape, kidnapping, two counts of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or older and intimidating a witness/juror/police/court official. Officers from ERO Boston arrested Emilio Jose Pena-Casilla Dec. 17 in Boston.

“Emilio Jose Pena-Casilla stands accused of some very serious offenses against a Massachusetts resident,” said acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde of ERO Boston. “We hold a sacred duty to protect the residents of our communities, and we will continue to do so by apprehending and removing egregious noncitizen offenders from our neighborhoods. Today, another victim in Massachusetts no longer needs to fear their predator.”

U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended Pena-Casilla after he unlawfully entered the United States near Eagle Pass, Texas, Jan. 9, 2023. ERO Del Rio enrolled Pena-Casilla into the Alternatives to Detention program the next day and placed him into removal proceedings. ERO then released Pena-Casilla on his own recognizance.

ERO Boston terminated Pena-Casilla from the ATD program Feb. 16, 2023.

The Dorchester District Court arraigned Pena-Casilla July 15 for the offenses of assault to rape, kidnapping, two counts of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 years or older and intimidating a witness/juror/police/court official.

ERO Boston issued an immigration detainer against Pena-Casilla to the BostonPolice Department pending his arraignment at the Dorchester District Court.

On July 17, ERO Boston sent the immigration detainer lodged against Pena-Casilla to the Nashua Street Jail of the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office. The Dorchester District Court ignored ERO Boston’s immigration detainer and released Pena-Casilla on bail with GPS conditions the next day.

The Suffolk County Superior Court indicted Pena-Casilla Sept. 11 for the offenses of assault to rape, kidnapping, two counts of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 years or older and intimidating a witness/juror/police/court official.

The Dorchester District Court dismissed the charges Sept. 13 due to Pena-Casilla being indicted in the Suffolk County Superior Court on the same charges.

Pena-Casilla remains in ERO custody.

As part of its mission to identify and arrest removable noncitizens, 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, the 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. 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 is one of ICE’s three operational directorates and 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 crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.

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