Border Agents Rearrest Illegal Immigrant Accused of Child Rape in Massachusetts

Enforcement and Removal Operations said the district court had previously ignored its immigration detainer.

Illegal immigrants wait along the border wall for Border Patrol agents in El Paso, Texas, on May 11, 2023. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

An illegal immigrant charged with raping a minor in Massachusetts has been rearrested by deportation officers after being released on bail by a local district court earlier this year.

Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston said that its officers arrested the 20-year-old Brazilian national, who was not named by immigration officials, near his residence in Lowell on March 28.

“This Brazilian noncitizen is accused of sexually abusing a Massachusetts minor,” ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons said in a statement on April 15.

“Every second he spends roaming free in our communities, he represents a potential threat to the children of our communities,” Mr. Lyons added.

Border Patrol agents had previously arrested the illegal immigrant and his parents in July 2021, after they illegally entered the United States near San Luis, Arizona.

They were ordered to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge before being released on an order of recognizance.

After his release, the man was arrested again on Aug. 2, 2023, for operating a motor vehicle without a license and inspection sticker. Those charges were later dismissed, according to ERO.

A few months later, on Dec. 20, 2023, the Milford Police Department issued a warrant for his arrest on charges of child rape and enticement of a child under the age of 16.

He was then arrested in Portland, Maine, on Jan. 10, for the offense of fugitive from justice, stemming from a warrant issued by the department, for the child rape and enticement charges.

ERO Boston lodged an immigration detainer against him. However, on Jan. 18, he was transported to the Milford District Court in Massachusetts, where he was arraigned on the charges. The court set a $5,000 bail with GPS monitoring requirements.

ERO said the district court ignored its immigration detainer and instead released the illegal immigrant on Jan. 25 after he paid $5,000 in bail. He was rearrested on March 28 near his residence in Lowell, Massachusetts.

“The men and women of ERO Boston will always prioritize public safety by protecting the residents of New England from egregious noncitizen offenders,” Mr. Lyons stated.

Data released by ERO showed that in fiscal year 2023, the agency made 170,590 administrative arrests, marking a 19.5 percent increase over the previous year. Around 73,822 illegal immigrants had been arrested with a criminal history, with an average of four charges and convictions per individual, according to the data.

Earlier this month, an illegal immigrant who had been deported seven times and arrested 11 times was charged with aggravated murder after an unidentified body was found in Ohio.

Butler County Sheriff’s Office stated that Fermin Garcia-Gutierrez, a 46-year-old Mexican national, was detained on an ICE holder and held in the Butler County Jail for weapon charges, aggravated murder, and drug possession.

Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones said that Mr. Garcia-Gutierrez had previously been deported and arrested multiple times using seven different names and three different birth dates.