ERO Boston arrests fugitive noncitizen convicted of firearms charges in Brazil
BOSTON — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston arrested a Brazilian fugitive May 24. The man was convicted of unlawful possession of firearms, ammunition and explosives in Brazil and sentenced to incarceration.
“Criminals who are wanted in their home countries will not find refuge in the United States,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd Lyons. “Our officers will continue to identify, arrest, detain and remove noncitizens who pose a threat our communities.”
The 35-year-old foreign national unlawfully entered the United States near Yuma, Arizona, on Sept. 5, 2021. U.S. Border Patrol apprehended him; he was placed into removal proceedings and served a notice to appear before an immigration judge. On Sept. 29, 2022, Brazilian authorities in the province of Minas Gerais, Brazil, issued a warrant for his arrest.
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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