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May 23, 2023Boston, MA, United StatesEnforcement and Removal

ERO Boston arrests Guatemalan citizen charged with child rape

BOSTON — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston arrested an unlawfully present citizen of Guatemala on May 15. The man was recently arraigned by local authorities on multiple counts of aggravated rape of a child.

“There is no offense more repulsive than the rape of a child — a sickening crime which can destroy the future of an innocent victim,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd Lyons. “Part of the mission of ERO Boston is to apprehend unlawfully present foreign nationals like this individual, with multiple counts of grievous sexual assault, who pose a real threat to children and families in our neighborhoods. We will not relent in our commitment to apprehending and seeking removal of those who pose serious threats to the safety of our communities.”

The 41-year-old citizen of Guatemala originally entered the United States unlawfully three times in 2001. The U.S. Border Patrol apprehended him on all three occasions and he voluntarily returned each time. He unlawfully reentered the country again on an unknown date before early 2021. In May 2021, the native of Quiche, Guatemala, was arrested by local police in New Bedford for aggravated rape of a child. In August 2021, he was arraigned in the Superior Court in Bristol on two counts of aggravated rape of a child. He was later released by the court on pretrial conditions; the charges are pending. ERO Boston arrested him without incident on immigration violations in New Bedford on May 15.

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 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 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (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. Once a noncitizen is subject to a final order of removal issued by an immigration judge or other lawful means, ICE officers may carry out the removal.

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.

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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