Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston officials arrested a migrant charged with allegedly raping a minor and other sex crimes for the second time after local jurisdiction failed to uphold his immigration detainer.
Officials released a press statement Wednesday regarding the arrest of an unidentified Colombian national who was charged locally with “rape and indecent assault and battery of a minor over the age of 14” after being apprehended on March 28 in Lynn, Massachusetts. (RELATED: Prosecutors Charge Illegal Immigrant With Rape Of ‘Mentally Incapacitated’ Minor)
“This unlawfully present Colombian national stands accused of a horrific crime,” ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons stated. “There are few crimes more disturbing than the sexual assault of a child, and no person more disturbing than one who would prey upon the most innocent members of our communities. ERO Boston will continue to prioritize public safety by working tenaciously to arrest and remove unlawfully present child sex predators from our New England neighborhoods.”
Shortly after entering the United States illegally, the Colombian national was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) agents in Eagle Pass, Texas on July 3, 2022, officials stated. Along with ERO officials enrolling the migrant into an “Alternatives to Detention program,” Border Patrol issued a “noncitizen” notice for the Colombian national to appear before a Department of Justice (DOJ) immigration judge.
@EROBoston apprehends Colombian national arrested for sex crimes against a Massachusetts minor https://t.co/oez7oY99Z9 pic.twitter.com/IhlE2V4CRL
— ERO Boston (@EROBoston) April 3, 2024
However, in January, the migrant was arrested by Lynn, Massachusetts, authorities, and was then arraigned at the Lynn District Court on Jan. 29 for the alleged sex crimes against a minor. Officials stated that later on Jan. 29, ERO Boston lodged an “immigration detainer against the Colombian national” with the district court, but Essex County Sheriff’s Department failed to honor the request.
The migrant was released from state custody, despite his pending sex charges against a minor, and was not arrested again until roughly two months later. While officials did not clarify the missing time in between the Colombian national’s arrests, ERO authorities have served him with a “superseding notice to appear before a DOJ immigration judge and a warrant for his arrest.”
Pending his removal proceedings, the migrant will remain in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody.