ERO Boston arrests twice-removed Guatemalan national charged with weapons crimes, assault and battery, and drunk driving after local court ignores immigration detainer

BOSTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston arrested a Guatemalan national Dec. 16 who has been charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, operating a vehicle with a suspended license and operating under the influence of liquor. The Guatemalan native, whose name is being withheld for privacy reasons, has a 2009 conviction for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

“This Guatemalan noncitizen has been accused of crimes that put Massachusetts residents at risk, including drunk driving,” said ERO Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde. “Drunk driving kills more than 13,000 people annually in the U.S. This individual, who ERO has previously removed from the U.S. twice before — once in 2010 and once in 2020 — repeatedly endangered the lives of every man, woman and child in the Commonwealth with his actions.”

The noncitizen first entered the United States sometime in 2006, and most recently in 2020. He’s been accused and convicted of several crimes in the past 14 years.

First, the Chelsea District Court convicted him of two assault and battery offenses, one involving a dangerous weapon, in June 2009. The court sentenced him to two years behind bars for the offenses. The state of Massachusetts released him to ERO custody June 8, 2010, and ERO removed him July 23.

The Boston Police Department arrested him for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in 2018. Although ERO Boston lodged an immigration detainer against him, the Boston Police Department released him into the public in December of that year.

ERO Boston arrested him in Chelsea on Aug. 20, 2019, and served him with a notice of intent/decision to reinstate prior order. ERO Boston then removed him from the U.S. on Feb. 11, 2020.

The Lynn District Court then convicted him of operating a vehicle under the influence of liquor in July 2024 and sentenced him to a year of probation.

The Massachusetts State Police arrested him less than a month later for drunk driving in Essex County. ERO Boston lodged another immigration detainer against him, but the Lynn District Court refused to honor it and released him Aug. 19, 2024.

The Framingham District Court arraigned him in November 2024 for operating with a suspended license and, four days later, the Chelsea District Court arraigned him for assault with a dangerous weapon and violation of pre-order conditions.

All the 2024 charges, including some that are felonies, are still pending except operating under the influence in Lynn, which resulted in his sentence to probation.

ERO Boston officers lodged another immigration detainer against the Guatemalan national Dec. 13, 2024, while he was incarcerated in the Nashua Street Jail. The jail released him to ERO custody Dec. 16. He remains in ERO custody awaiting removal from the United States for the third time.

“Officials declined to honor ICE immigration detainers against this individual twice, and both times he has been rearrested for allegedly committing new crimes that put our communities at risk,” said Hyde. “I can’t overstate how important it is for local authorities to honor immigration detainers, which are public safety tools designed to protect our families, friends and neighbors.”

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.

You 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.