ERO Boston arrests Guatemalan convicted sex offender
BOSTON — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston arrested a convicted Guatemalan sex offender being sought by California authorities Oct. 17. The 35-year-old Guatemalan national, who fled the state of California, was arrested by local police in Waltham after they discovered he was wanted by California authorities for failing to register as a sex offender there.
The unlawfully present Guatemalan national was convicted in California Superior Court on charges of sex with a minor victim and sexual penetration with a foreign object on a minor and received a three-year sentence in November 2021. Following his arrest and subsequent release by the Waltham District Court, ERO Boston officers arrested him for immigration violations near his residence in Waltham.
“Convicted sex offenders have no right to hide out in our communities and they pose a threat to public safety,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd Lyons. “It gives me great pride to know that our dedicated team of ERO Boston officers remain strongly committed to locating, apprehending and seeking the removal of immigration violators like this individual who pose a clear public safety threat to the community. ERO Boston remains vigilant and focused on this critical aspect of our mission.”
The Guatemalan citizen was admitted into the United States in Los Angeles, California, in September 2011 under the terms of a nonimmigrant, time-limited immigration visa. He remained unlawfully in the country beyond his visa’s expiration and never sought legal authorization to remain. After serving one year of incarceration in California, the Guatemalan national failed to register as a sex offender and then moved to Massachusetts without notifying authorities as required under California state law.
He will remain in ERO Boston custody pending removal proceedings.
ERO conducts removals of individuals without a lawful basis to remain in the United States, including at the order of immigration judges with the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). EOIR is a separate entity from DHS 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.
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.
Members of the public can report crime and suspicious activity by calling 866-347-2423 or completing the online tip form.
Learn more about ERO Boston’s mission to preserve public safety on X, formerly known as Twitter, @EROBoston.
Updated: