ERO Boston arrests Honduran national accused of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14

BOSTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations arrested Salvador Castro Garcia, 46, after the Brockton District Court released him on bail Nov. 21. Castro, a Honduran national who also goes by the name Jose Luis Sanchez-Cruz, is accused of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and assault and battery.

“Castro is accused of harming a child, which is unconscionable,” said ERO Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde. “He also unlawfully reentered the United States after being removed once before. Thanks to the Brockton District Court and the Plymouth County Correctional Facility’s cooperation with our immigration detainer, we took him into ICE custody without putting the public or our officers at risk. We — and the public — are always grateful when local law enforcement honors detainers so we can arrest potentially dangerous noncitizens in safe, controlled environments rather than on the streets of our communities.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection arrested Castro near Rio Grande City in Texas March 6, 2001. An immigration judge ordered him removed April 27 that year and he was subsequently removed to Honduras May 10. He then reentered the United States without inspection at an unknown location after that date.

ERO Boston lodged the immigration detainer against Castro Nov. 20, a day before taking him into ICE custody, where he currently awaits immigration proceedings.

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, 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. Because 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 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.