ERO Boston arrests fugitive with Interpol notice wanted for crimes against children in Guatemala
BOSTON — In New Bedford on July 20, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston arrested a fugitive with an Interpol notice who is wanted in Guatemala on felony charges of crimes against children.
The 35-year-old native of Santa Catarina Pinula, Guatemala, is wanted by law enforcement authorities for felony charges of child abuse, crimes against children and abduction in Guatemala. He is the subject of a Red Notice issued by Interpol, the international criminal police organization.
“Crimes against children are abhorrent,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd Lyons. “ERO Boston is proud to have apprehended this unlawfully present individual who has been charged with such egregious crimes. We stand by our commitment to locate, apprehend and remove international fugitives being sought for egregious crimes, and we will not relent in this fight.”
In January 2019, the citizen of Guatemala unlawfully entered the United States near El Paso, Texas, and was served a notice to appear before an immigration judge at future date and released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. In September 2019, the Guatemalan National Civil Police began actively seeking custody of the subject for the felony offenses he is charged with in Guatemala. ERO Boston officers located and apprehended the foreign fugitive in New Bedford on July 20. ERO Boston is seeking his removal; he will remain in ICE custody pending immigration proceedings.
Noncitizens placed into removal proceedings receive their legal due process from federal immigration judges in the immigration courts, which are administered by the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). EOIR is an agency within the U.S. Department of Justice and is separate from the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (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. Once a noncitizen is subject to a final order of removal issued by an immigration judge or other lawful means, ICE officers may carry out the removal.
ERO officers make enforcement decisions on a case-by-case basis in a professional and responsible manner, informed by their experience as law enforcement officials and in a way that best protects against the greatest threats to the homeland and the integrity of U.S. immigration laws.
In fiscal year 2022, ERO arrested 46,396 noncitizens with criminal histories. This group had 198,498 associated charges and convictions, including 21,531 assault offenses; 8,164 sex and sexual assault offenses; 5,554 weapons offenses; 1,501 homicide-related offenses; and 1,114 kidnapping offenses.
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.
For more news and information on how the ERO Boston field office carries out its immigration enforcement mission, follow us on Twitter @EROBoston.
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