ERO Boston arrests Jamaican citizen facing drugs, firearms charges
BOSTON — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston arrested an unlawfully present citizen of Jamaica in Charlestown on May 18. The individual is facing multiple local criminal charges including narcotics, firearms and motor vehicle charges.
“Our immigration system is not meant to provide a pathway for those seeking to engage in criminal activity,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd Lyons. “ERO Boston will apprehend and seek to remove unlawfully present individuals who violate local narcotics and firearms laws. The public safety of our communities is ERO Boston’s mission.”
The 23-year-old citizen of Jamaica was originally authorized to enter the United States under a temporary tourist visa for a limited time but remained beyond the terms of his visa. In May 2019, the foreign national was arrested by the Boston Police Department on charges of conspiracy to violate the Controlled Substance Act, carrying a firearm with ammunition, narcotics possession with intent to distribute, carrying a firearm without a permit, possession of ammunition without a firearm identification card, and possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number.
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.
For more news and information on how the ERO Boston field office carries out its immigration enforcement mission, follow us on Twitter @EROBoston.
Updated: