ERO Boston arrests previously removed Mexican citizen convicted of child rape and prostitution charges
BOSTON — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston arrested a previously removed foreign national Jan. 25 in Lynn who had been locally convicted of child rape and prostitution charges.
ERO Boston made the apprehension as part of a recent national immigration enforcement effort where U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ERO officers apprehended 171 unlawfully present noncitizens with pending charges or convictions for murder, homicide or assault against children. The nationwide law enforcement effort ran from Jan.16 through Jan. 28.
“ERO Boston remains committed to finding and removing predators such as this from our New England neighborhoods,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons. “Our officers were able to locate and arrest this individual who has already proven to be a threat to children. Despite having been previously removed by ICE, he found his way back to the United States, falsely believing he could reside in Massachusetts without repercussions. ERO Boston will not allow that to happen.”
The 42-year-old Mexican citizen, who also holds Guatemalan citizenship, unlawfully entered the United States at an unknown location, on an unknown date prior to December 2004, without being inspected or admitted by a U.S. immigration official.
He was convicted of rape of a child and sentenced to prison by a criminal court in Kent County, Delaware, in 2004. Following his time in a Delaware state prison for that offense, the he was removed by immigration authorities in December 2006.
He later unlawfully reentered the United States on an unknown date at an unknown location without being inspected or admitted by a U.S. immigration official.
On Nov. 3, 2015, he was convicted of sexual conduct for a fee in a criminal court in Lynn. Under Massachusetts state law, the offense of sexual conduct for a fee — commonly known as prostitution or solicitation — makes it a crime to engage in sex or a sexual act with any person in exchange for a fee and to engage in sex or any sexual act with a minor in exchange for a fee.
After ERO Boston confirmed his presence in its area of responsibility, deportation officers arrested him without incident in Lynn on Jan. 25.
He will remain in ICE custody pending his removal from the United States. ERO Boston will seek his removal through reinstatement of a prior final order of removal issued by a federal immigration judge with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).
Noncitizens placed into removal proceedings receive their legal due process from federal immigration judges with the EOIR. EOIR is an agency within the U.S. Department of Justice and is separate from the Department of Homeland Security and ICE. Immigration judges in these courts make decisions based on the merits of each individual case. ICE officers carry out removal decisions made by federal immigration judges.
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, @EROBoston.
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