Another violent fugitive living illegally in the United States, this one a child rapist, has been found on Cape Cod.
Saulo Cardona Ferreira, wanted for raping a 5-year-old in his home country of Brazil, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Monday on the swanky atoll of Martha’s Vineyard, a self-proclaimed sanctuary community that is home to Hollywood and political luminaries including former President Barack Obama.
Mr. Ferreira was sentenced to 14 years on his child rape conviction, but escaped incarceration by fleeing to the United States, according to the ICE Removal Operations Boston Field Office.
According to the Boston agency, Mr. Ferreira has “multiple criminal convictions” in Brazil.
The 37-year-old is the third illegal immigrant who is a wanted fugitive in their native country found to be living on Cape Cod in just the past three months.
On Nov. 2, ICE agents discovered 38-year-old convicted murderer Jordano Gotopo-Lopez of Venezuela, living in government-funded housing set up for illegal immigrants on a military base in Bourne.
Mr. Gotopo-Lopez’s status as a 13-year fugitive in Venezuela was first discovered back in July when he was arrested at Eagle Passe in Texas for entering the United States illegally.
After he was processed, he was released with instructions to self-report to immigration authorities in 60 days. He never showed up.
In September, 31-year old Hiago Ornela-Da Silva, who was charged in connection to a double homicide in Brazil in 2021, was also discovered living on Martha’s Vineyard.
Massachusetts, the home state of Cape Cod, is experiencing a massive influx of illegal immigration with the state utilizing its right-to-shelter law to provide room and board to hundreds of illegal immigrants.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has used millions of dollars in taxpayer money to secure hotels around the state to house illegal immigrants, a move that incited criticism from state Republicans who pointed out her administration’s inaction with regard to helping the state’s large homeless veteran population.
Last month, controversy over illegal immigrants receiving priority over U.S. veterans escalated when hundreds of both active duty and ex-service members found themselves out in the cold after hotel rooms they booked as early as a year in advance for the historic Army-Navy football game at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro had instead been bought up by the state and given to illegal immigrants.
The issue of illegal immigration has been especially cantankerous on the Cape where a group of residents recently protested the state’s purchase of a motel in Yarmouth to provide housing for illegal immigrants.
In 2022, Martha’s Vineyard was at the center of the illegal immigration controversy when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is currently running for president, rerouted a busload of Venezuelan illegal immigrants to the Cape Cod island.
Despite touting itself as a safe haven for illegal immigrants, in less than a day, Martha’s Vineyard arranged to have them shipped off the island.
It remains unclear how long Mr. Ferreira had been living on Martha’s Vineyard before being detected, although ICE reports on his arrest suggest he had an established home and job on the island. Like Mr. Gotopo-Lopez and Mr. Da Silva, Mr. Ferreira is being detained for deportation.
There have also been dozens of reports of heinous crimes committed against American citizens by illegal immigrants soon after crossing the U.S. border, including the brutal rape and murder of a 20-year old autistic Maryland woman in May by a suspected member of the notorious MS-13 gang.
According to an ICE report, the suspect was a 16-year-old minor who entered the United States as an “unaccompanied minor” via Rio Grande City, Texas.
Juan Carlos Garcia-Rodriguez, who is from Guatemala, entered the United States at the Pasadena, Texas, border as an unaccompanied minor at the age of 17. A few months later, according to police and court records, he raped and murdered 11-year-old Maria Gonzalez, who lived in the apartment building where Mr. Garcia-Rodriquez was being housed.
Mr. Garcia-Rodriquez, who turned 18 shortly after entering the United States, is believed to have forced his way into the girl’s apartment as she was taking the trash out.
After arriving home from work, her father found her body in a trash bag stuffed under a bed in the family’s apartment.
Mr. Garcia-Rodriquez is among the more than 8 million illegal immigrants who have entered the country under President Joe Biden’s watch, according to U.S. Border Patrol estimates.
While the southern border has long been the focus of the controversy, the influx along the northern border is also starting to gain attention.
On Wednesday, Thanksgiving Day eve, border patrol agents in Maine discovered two illegal immigrants on a national watch list for organized crime were among a group of 20 Romanians sneaking into the northern New England from Canada.
Nationally, the discovery of illegal immigrants convicted of murder, rape, or other violent crimes is growing.
Juan Martinez Merida, wanted for murder in Mexico, was caught—and released—more than half a dozen times, before being finally deported just a few weeks ago, according to ICE.
According to a recently released report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), 300,000 people crossed over into the United States in just October. The organization faults Republicans as much as Democrats for its recent approval of the Biden administration’s proposed Continuing Resolution (CR) that includes the continued use of taxpayer dollars to fund the president’s immigrant policy.
“Even as top national security experts issue dire warnings of terror threats posed by our wide-open borders, congressional leaders are again failing to use the CR as an opportunity to force the Biden administration to end policies that place our nation in grave danger,” Dan Stein, president of FAIR, said in a statement.
“House Republicans have squandered a full year of their two-year control without passing a budget that forces the administration to end its reckless border and immigration policies. Halting the Biden border crisis was an explicit promise they made last year when they asked American voters to entrust them with the leadership of the House.”
The open border crisis has been a key issue for the five Republican candidates vying for the party nomination for the presidency. Mr. DeSantis, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley, former President Donald Trump, and pharmatech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have all vowed to immediately swap out President Biden’s catch-and-release program to catch-and-deport if elected.
Only former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has supported amnesty for illegal immigrants.
William Gheen, president of grassroots group Americans for Legal Immigration PAC, believes that illegal immigrants will play a role in the outcome of the race for the White House.
He points to a national Ramussen poll released in October showing that 51 percent of Americans believe the 2024 presidential election will “likely be influenced” by votes cast by illegal immigrants.
