ERO Boston arrests Mexican national convicted of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon
BOSTON — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston arrested an unlawfully present citizen of Mexico who was convicted locally of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Deportation officers from ERO Boston apprehended him Feb. 21 in Waltham.
“This unlawfully present Mexican national has been convicted of a violent crime and represented a public safety threat to our communities,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons. “ERO Boston will continue to apprehend any such menace to our residents. The men and women of ERO Boston remain committed to protecting the safety of our New England neighborhoods.”
The 22-year-old Mexican national unlawfully entered the United States without inspection, crossing the U.S.’s southern border near Laredo, Texas, in October 2018.
In April 2022, the Middlesex Superior Court convicted him of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
ERO Boston issued an immigration detainer after encountering him while he was detained in Middlesex County. The Middlesex Superior Court did not honor the immigration detainer and released him on probation after convicting him of those charges.
After the court released him, he violated his local probation terms by being arrested and charged for operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs, a crime he could not have committed had the court honored the detainer. He was later convicted of operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol for a third time in the Newton District Court in November 2023.
The Mexican national has thus far been arrested and charged with operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs in state district courts in Waltham, Newton and Framingham.
He will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings before a federal immigration judge with the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). EOIR is a separate entity from the Department of Homeland Security 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 2023, ERO made 170,590 administrative arrests, a 19.5% increase over the previous year. ERO arrested 73,822 noncitizens with a criminal history; those arrested had an average of four charges and convictions per individual, including more than 33,209 charges or convictions for assault, 7,520 for weapons offenses, 1,713 for homicide-related offenses, and 1,615 for kidnapping. Removals also included 3,406 known or suspected gang members, 139 known or suspected terrorists, seven human rights violators, and 108 foreign fugitives wanted by their governments for crimes including homicide, rape, terrorism and kidnapping. Also in fiscal year 2023, ERO conducted 142,580 removals to more than 170 countries worldwide.
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 the 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 ICE’s mission to increase public safety in your community on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @EROBoston.
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