ERO Boston arrests convicted Brazilian drug trafficker
BOSTON — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston arrested a foreign fugitive in Worcester, Massachusetts, on May 2 who is wanted by Brazilian law enforcement authorities for a drug trafficking conviction.
“This convicted drug trafficker, who is unlawfully present in the country, is a public safety threat,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd Lyons. “ERO Boston is dedicated to apprehending and removing people who have no lawful right to remain in the country and who present a risk to the security of our communities.”
The Brazilian fugitive entered the U.S. in October 2021 without inspection or parole and was apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol. He was placed into removal proceedings and provided a notice to appear before an immigration judge with Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) at a later date. In December 2019, he was convicted on the offense of Drug Trafficking and sentenced to 20 months incarceration by a judicial court in the province of Minas Gerais, Brazil.
ERO Boston will seek his removal pending the outcome of a hearing with an immigration judge with the Justice Department’s EOIR.
Noncitizens placed into removal proceedings receive their legal due process from federal immigration judges in the immigration courts, which are administered by the Justice Department’s EOIR. The 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. ERO officers carry out the removal decisions made by the federal immigration judges.
ERO 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 and the integrity of U.S. immigration laws.
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.
In fiscal year 2022, ERO arrested 46,396 noncitizens with criminal histories. This group had 198,498 associated charges and convictions, including 21,531 assault offenses; 8,164 sex and sexual assault offenses; 5,554 weapons offenses; 1,501 homicide-related offenses; and 1,114 kidnapping offenses.
For more news and information on how the ERO Boston field office carries out its immigration enforcement mission, follow us on Twitter @EROBoston.
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