U.S. immigration officials arrested five illegal immigrants with records or warrants for crimes against children in separate operations in Boston, New Orleans, Washington, and Denver, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced.
Officers in Boston apprehended an illegal immigrant from Brazil and another from El Salvador, both with convictions for sex crimes against minors, while an illegal immigrant from Guatemala wanted for child abuse was arrested in Denver, a Salvadoran illegal immigrant was arrested in Washington D.C, and a Honduran national was apprehended in New Orleans, according to several statements.
The arrests were made amid increasing controversy over illegal immigration in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election. Speakers on day two of the Republican National Convention included family members who lost loved ones as a result of open border policies.
A fugitive who was convicted of multiple counts of child rape in Brazil was removed from the United States, ERO said in a statement on July 15.
ERO Boston turned Saulo Cardoso-Ferreira, 37, over to Brazilian authorities, according to the statement. He was an unlawfully present fugitive who was wanted by authorities in Brazil for failure to serve a 14-year prison sentence for convictions of rape of a child, ERO Boston said.
“Saulo Cardoso-Ferreira attempted to flee justice and take up refuge in Massachusetts,” ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd Lyons said.
“He posed a significant threat to the children of our communities, and we could not let that continue.
“[ERO Boston will] continue to prioritize the safety of our public by arresting and removing egregious noncitizen offenders from our New England neighborhoods.”
It is not known when or where Mr. Cardoso unlawfully entered the United States.
ERO Boston also arrested another illegal immigrant, Jose Bladimir Gavidia Hernandez, a 37-year-old Salvadoran national, who was convicted of sex crimes against a minor in Boston and served a two-year sentence.
According to ERO Boston, it is unknown when or where Mr. Hernandez unlawfully entered the country.
Carlos Oliverio Juc Tipol, 32, was arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol in El Paso, Texas, last September. During processing, officials discovered an active warrant for him from Guatemala.
On the second day of the ongoing Republican National Convention, which is focusing on immigration, two additional apprehensions of illegal immigrant criminals were announced.
Geovany Alex Pineda-Echeverria was removed from the country and sent to El Salvador in 2019. He then reentered near Rio Grande Valley on June 22, 2022, and the U.S. Border Patrol arrested him.
Mr. Pineda-Echeverria was convicted for illegal reentry after deportation in January 2023. He was extradited to Fairfax County, Virginia, for an active warrant for his failure to appear in court on the felony charge involving a minor.
Mr. Pineda-Echeverri was convicted last July for misdemeanor consensual sexual intercourse with a child and sentenced to three months and 10 days in jail.
After he served his time, the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center released him from custody despite an immigration detainer issued by ERO.
“In addition to repeatedly disregarding American immigration laws, Geovany Alex Pineda-Echeverria also victimized a child in Virginia,” ERO Washington Field Office Director Liana Castano said in a statement. “Pineda represented a significant threat to Virginia children, and we could not allow that to persist.”
Mr. Dubon-Dubon is being held in the Caddo Parish Correctional Center in Shreveport until his extradition to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he faces charges of aggravated indecent assault, unlawful contact with a minor, endangering the welfare of children, indecent assault, and corruption of a minor.
“This Honduran citizen not only entered the United States unlawfully, but he also attempted to run away from the crimes he allegedly committed in the United States in an effort to evade justice,” ERO New Orleans Field Office Director Mellissa Harper said in a statement.
Of the total arrests ICE conducted in the 2023 financial year, the agency reported that 43 percent of those arrested had criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, up from 32.5 percent in the 2022 financial year.
