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December 29, 2022Boston, MA, United StatesEnforcement and Removal

ERO Boston arrests Brazilian fugitive wanted for murder

Jaconias Rosa Pereira, 50 Jaconias Rosa Pereira, 50
Officers with the ERO Boston Fugitive Operations Team arrest Brazilian convicted murderer Rosa Pereira in Worcester, Massachusetts on Dec. 28 without incident.

BOSTON — Officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston arrested Jaconias Rosa Pereira, a Brazilian criminal fugitive wanted for murder in Brazil, Wednesday, Dec. 28.

“Thanks to the work of our dedicated officers and the assistance of our Brazilian law enforcement partners, ERO Boston has taken this dangerous fugitive off the streets of the Commonwealth,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd Lyons. “ICE remains committed to arresting and removing criminal fugitives like Rosa Pereira who pose a threat to the American public.”

Rosa Pereira, 50, a citizen and national of Brazil, entered the United States without being inspected by an immigration officer on an unknown date and at an unknown location.

In August 2022, ERO Boston was notified that Rosa Pereira was the subject of an open arrest warrant requiring him to serve a 15-year sentence for a murder conviction brought by Brazilian law enforcement authorities. ERO Boston fugitive operations officers arrested Rosa Pereira without incident near a residence in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Rosa Pereira is scheduled for a court hearing with an immigration judge with the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) and will remain in ICE custody, pending immigration proceedings.

Noncitizens placed into removal proceedings receive their legal due process from federal immigration judges in the immigration courts, which are administered by the Executive Office for Immigration Review (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 the removal decisions made by the federal immigration judges.

ICE officers make enforcement decisions on a case-by-case basis in a professional and responsible manner, informed by their experience as law enforcement officials and in a way that best protects against the greatest threats to the homeland.

In fiscal year 2021, ERO arrested 12,025 individuals with aggravated felony convictions. Offenses associated with noncitizens arrested in FY 2021 included 1,506 homicide related offenses, 3,415 sexual assaults, 19,549 assaults, 2,717 robberies and 1,063 kidnappings.

ICE’s ERO directorate upholds U.S. immigration law at, within and beyond our borders. ERO operations target public safety threats, such as convicted criminal noncitizens and gang members, as well as individuals who have otherwise violated our nation's immigration laws, including those who illegally reentered the country after being removed and immigration fugitives ordered removed by federal immigration judges. ERO deportation officers assigned to Interpol also assist in targeting foreign fugitives and in fugitive arrest and removal cases involving those who are wanted for crimes committed abroad and who are now at-large in the United States. ERO manages all aspects of the immigration enforcement process, including identification and arrest, detention, bond management, supervised release, as well as transportation and removal. In addition, ERO repatriates noncitizens ordered removed from the U.S. to more than 170 countries around the world.

Members of the public can report crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-347-2423 or completing ICE’s online tip form.

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