ICE arrests 32 during 5-day enforcement action in New England

BOSTON – Officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston arrested 32 during a 5-day enforcement surge, from May 19-23rd, in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.

During the effort, which focused on persons ordered removed from the U.S. with criminal convictions or pending charges, ICE ERO deportation officers arrested 32 individuals for violating U.S. immigration laws. Arrests occurred in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. Of those arrested, 22 were convicted criminals, 10 had criminal charges pending, 27 had been issued a final order of removal and failed to depart the United States, and 2 had been previously removed from the United States.

Some of the individuals arrested during these enforcement actions may face federal criminal prosecution for illegal re-entry after removal. The arrestees who are not being federally prosecuted will be processed administratively for removal from the United States. Those who have outstanding orders of removal, or who returned to the United States illegally after being removed, are generally subject to immediate removal from the country. Two individuals are in ICE custody awaiting a hearing before an immigration judge. 

“This successful targeted enforcement operation removed many serious public safety threats from multiple communities throughout the New England region. “ said Marcos Charles, acting field office director for ERO Boston. “It’s because of the professionalism of ICE law enforcement officers and special agents working operations aimed at arresting criminal aliens, that real progress is being made in protecting our communities from the threat posed by criminal aliens.”

Among those arrested by ICE during the operation were:

• A 45-year old citizen of Vietnam in Boston, MA with a conviction for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
• A 31-year old citizen of Kenya in Lowell, MA with convictions for assault and battery and Fraud.
• A 32-year old citizen of the Dominican Republic in Bridgeport, CT with convictions for (3) counts of Identity Theft, (3) counts of Credit Card Fraud and (3) counts of Credit Card Larceny.
• A 32-year old citizen of Cape Verde in Brockton, MA with convictions for armed assault to murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition. This foreign national also has pending charges for possession to distribute fentanyl, resisting arrest and conspiracy to violate the Controlled Substance Act.

The criminal aliens arrested include nationals from: Brazil, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Kenya, Mexico, Cape Verde, Poland and Vietnam.

ICE removed or returned 258,085 aliens in fiscal year 2018. Enforcement and Removal Operations arrested 158,581 aliens, 90 percent of whom had criminal convictions, pending criminal charges, or previously issued final orders. The overall arrest figure represents an 11 percent increase over fiscal year 2017.

ICE is focused on removing public safety threats, such as convicted criminal aliens and gang members, as well as individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws, including those who illegally re-entered the country after being removed and immigration fugitives ordered removed by federal immigration judges.

Editor’s Note: The arrest statistics provided in this news release represent preliminary data that has been manually reported by an ICE Field Office and may vary from official agency metrics contained in ICE’s system of record. Because ICE’s official metrics are reported by Area of Responsibility (AOR), they may differ in content and level of detail from data that has been manually reported by a Field Office.