ERO New York City arrests Venezuelan national charged with assaulting NYPD officers

NEW YORK — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) New York City apprehended an unlawfully present Venezuelan national charged with assaulting New York City Police Department officers earlier this month. Deportation officers from ERO New York City’s Fugitive Operations Team apprehended Brayan Freites-Macias, 21, near his residence in New York City on April 24.

“Brayan Freites-Macias has displayed a history of violence and represented a threat to the residents of New York City,” said ERO New York City Field Office Director Kenneth Genalo. “Any time local jurisdictions refuse to honor ICE detainers, they put the public at risk. ERO New York City will continue to prioritize public safety by apprehending and removing these egregious offenders from our community.”

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Border Patrol agents arrested Freites-Macias Dec. 4, 2023, after he unlawfully entered the United States near El Paso, Texas. Officials served him with a notice to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge and released him into the United States on an order of recognizance.

NYPD arrested Freites-Macias Dec. 21, 2023, on the charge of petit larceny. He was subsequently convicted of disorderly conduct in the Richmond County Criminal Court in Staten Island on April 5 and sentenced to a conditional discharge. Separately, NYPD arrested him Jan. 18 on the charge of criminal trespass and on April 2 for charges of robbery-2nd degree: causes physical injury; assault-2nd degree: with intent to cause injury officer/fireman/EMT/nurse/Xing guard; criminal possession stolen property-5th degree; resisting arrest; and obstruct governmental administration-2nd degree.

NYPD arrested him again on April 3 on the charge of assault 3rd degree: with intent to cause physical injury.

On April 9, ERO New York City lodged an immigration detainer for Freites-Macias with the New York City Department of Corrections at Rikers Island.

The Department of Corrections refused to honor ERO New York City’s immigration detainer and released him from custody April 22. Later that day, NYPD officers arrested him on the charge of grand larceny-3rd degree: property value exceeds $3,000.

ERO New York City lodged an immigration detainer against Freites-Macias with the NYPD at Manhattan Central booking on April 23. Later that day, NYPD refused to honor the immigration detainer and released him from custody.

Deportation officers with ERO New York City’s Fugitive Operations Team arrested him near his residence in New York City on April 24. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.

As part of its mission to identify and arrest removable noncitizens, 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 ICE 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 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.

Members of the public can report crimes or suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the ICE online tip form.

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 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.

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