ERO Boston arrests Guatemalan national charged with forcibly raping Massachusetts child

BOSTON — Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston apprehended an unlawfully present 38-year-old Guatemalan national charged with forcibly raping a Massachusetts minor. Officers with ERO Boston arrested Maynor Francisco Hernandez-Rodas Sept. 20 in Lowell.

“Maynor Francisco Hernandez-Rodas stands accused of horrific crimes against a Massachusetts child,” said ERO Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde. “He represents a significant danger to the children of our community that we will not tolerate. ERO Boston will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing egregious noncitizen threats from our New England neighborhoods.”

Hernandez unlawfully entered the United States on an unknown date, at an unknown location and without inspection, admission or parole by a U.S. immigration official.

The Bridgeport, Connecticut, District Court convicted Hernandez Sept. 16, 2011, for the offense of breach of peace. The court sentenced him to six months in prison followed by a six-month suspended sentence and one year of probation.

The Norwalk, Connecticut, District Court convicted Hernandez May 15, 2016, for the offense of breach of peace and issued him a $100 fine.

The Lowell Police Department arrested Hernandez June 14, 2024, for aggravated rape of a child and rape of a child with force.

ERO Boston lodged an immigration detainer against Hernandez with the MCHOC June 28.

The Middlesex Superior Court arraigned Hernandez Sept. 4 for aggravated rape of a child with force and rape of a child by force.

The Middlesex Superior Court ignored ERO Boston’s immigration detainer and released Hernandez from custody on an unknown date.

Officers with ERO Boston arrested Hernandez Sept. 20 in Lowell. Hernandez 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, 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 conducts removals of individuals without a lawful basis to remain in the United States, including at the order of immigration judges with 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 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 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 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.