ERO Boston arrests Salvadoran national convicted of sex crimes against Massachusetts minor

BOSTON — Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston apprehended a 37-year-old Salvadoran national convicted of sex crimes against a minor in Boston. Deportation officers from ERO Boston arrested Jose Bladimir Gavidia Hernandez June 14 at the Suffolk County House of Correction in Boston.

“Jose Bladimir Gavidia Hernandez unlawfully entered the United States and committed deviant crimes against a minor in Boston,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons. “He poses a substantial threat to the children of our Massachusetts neighborhoods that we cannot allow. This case is an example of law enforcement agencies cooperating to enhance public safety. The Suffolk County House of Correction honoring our immigration detainer ensures that this individual, convicted of sex crimes against a child, will not have the opportunity to reoffend.”

Gavidia unlawfully entered the United States on an unknown date, at an unknown location, and without being inspected, admitted or paroled by a U.S. immigration official.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Police Department arrested Gavidia Aug. 31, 2021, and charged him with entice a child under 16 and obscene material to a minor.

The Boston Police Department arrested him Oct. 8, 2022, for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

The Suffolk Superior Court in Boston convicted him Nov. 1, 2022, for entice a child under 16 and obscene material to a minor and sentenced him to two years in prison followed by three years of probation, respectively.

Deportation officers from ERO Boston arrested Gavidia June 14 at the Suffolk County House of Correction in Boston upon the completion of his prison sentence.

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 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 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.

Members of the public with information regarding child sex offenders can report crimes or suspicious activity by dialing the ICE Tip Line at 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.

Learn more about ERO Boston’s mission to increase public safety in our New England communities on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @EROBoston.