ERO Manchester arrests Indonesian citizen accused of sexually assaulting New Hampshire child

MANCHESTER, N.H. — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Manchester arrested Mikhail Sebastian, an Indonesian national who’s been accused of sexually assaulting a New Hampshire child, Nov. 29.

“Mikhail Sebastian is accused of sexually abusing a child,” said ERO Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde, who also oversees ERO operations in New Hampshire. “ERO officers lodged an immigration detainer against him while he was in the Rockingham County Jail, and our colleagues there honored it so our officers could take him into custody in a safe, controlled setting.”

New Hampshire’s Portsmouth Police Department notified ICE that it had arrested Sebastian for attempted felonious sexual assault on a minor. After confirming Sebastian was unlawfully present in the United States, ERO Boston lodged the detainer against him with the Rockingham County Jail. After arresting Sebastian, ERO Boston served him with a notice to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge.

Sebastian is in ERO custody awaiting immigration proceedings. His criminal charges are still pending.

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 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.

Members of the public 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.