BOSTON — Officers with Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston arrested an unlawfully present fugitive in Everett on Oct. 10 who is wanted for financial fraud in Brazil.
“Financial crimes are not victimless crimes. They can cause great damage and harm to those who are victimized by them,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd Lyons. “Individuals not lawfully present and wanted in their home country for serious crimes cannot use our immigration system to hide from justice. ERO Boston will continue to seek out and apprehend individuals wanted for criminal acts committed in their native country. We will seek to remove them so they can be accountable for their crimes.”
In July 2021, the 37-year-old Brazilian fugitive unlawfully entered the United States at Otay Mesa, California, and was apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol. He was released under the Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program pending removal proceedings. Since October 2022, the Brazilian national has been sought by a criminal court in the municipality of Caratinga, in the eastern section of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, for a felony criminal charge of financial fraud that carries a five-year prison sentence. He will remain in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody pending removal proceedings.
ICE’s ATD program, which began in 2004, uses technology and case management to ensure noncitizen compliance with release conditions, court hearings, and final orders of removal. The program allows ICE to exercise increased supervision over a subset of those on ICE’s docket using several different monitoring technologies. ATD effectively increases court appearance rates, compliance with release conditions, and helps the participants meet their basic needs and understand their immigration obligations.
Those who are released from custody and enrolled in ATD must comply with the terms and conditions of their release, including appearances at all scheduled court hearings and compliance with ATD requirements. Depending on the circumstances of the case, failure to comply may result in an immigration judge issuing a final order in absentia and may render a noncitizen a priority for arrest and removal by ICE. As with any noncitizen in the United States without lawful status, ICE officers make enforcement decisions on a case-by-case basis to focus on the greatest threats to homeland security in a professional and responsible manner informed by their experience as law enforcement officers.
Noncitizens placed into removal proceedings receive their legal due process from federal immigration judges in the immigration courts, which are administered by the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). EOIR is an agency within the U.S. Department of Justice and is separate from the Department of Homeland Security and ICE. Immigration judges in these courts make decisions based on the merits of each individual case. ICE officers carry out the removal decisions made by the federal immigration judges.
In fiscal year 2022, ERO arrested 46,396 noncitizens with criminal histories. This group had 198,498 associated charges and convictions, including 21,531 assault offenses; 8,164 sex and sexual assault offenses; 5,554 weapons offenses; 1,501 homicide-related offenses; and 1,114 kidnapping offenses.
As one of ICE’s three operational directorates, ERO is the principal federal law enforcement authority in charge of domestic immigration enforcement. ERO’s mission is to protect the homeland through the arrest and removal of those who undermine the safety of U.S. communities and the integrity of U.S. immigration laws, and its primary areas of focus are interior enforcement operations, management of the agency’s detained and non-detained populations, and repatriation of noncitizens who have received final orders of removal. ERO’s workforce consists of more than 7,700 law enforcement and non-law enforcement support personnel across 25 domestic field offices and 208 locations nationwide, 30 overseas postings, and multiple temporary duty travel assignments along the border.
Members of the public can report crime and suspicious activity by calling 866-347-2423 or completing the online tip form.
Learn more about ERO Boston’s mission to preserve public safety on X, formerly known as Twitter, @EROBoston.
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