In a robust, month-long surge operation dubbed “Operation Patriot,” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and a formidable array of federal law enforcement partners have apprehended nearly 1,500 illegal aliens across Massachusetts, with a significant focus on individuals involved in violent crime, transnational gangs, and other egregious offenses.
Unveiled Tuesday, the sweeping enforcement action saw ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston team join forces with the FBI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the ATF, the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), the U.S. Marshals Service, and the U.S. Coast Guard. The operation, conducted throughout May, aimed to enhance public safety by removing individuals who posed a danger to communities.
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“The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a safer place today thanks to the hard work and determination of the men and women of ICE and our federal partners,” declared Patricia H. Hyde, Acting Field Office Director for ICE ERO Boston. “While every person we arrested was breaking our immigration laws, most of these individuals had significant criminality. They are criminal offenders who victimized innocent people and traumatized entire communities — murderers, rapists, drug traffickers, child sex predators and members of violent transnational criminal gangs.”
Indeed, more than half of the 1,461 arrested individuals – a staggering 790 – had significant criminal convictions or pending charges in the United States or abroad. These included those wanted for violent crimes in their home countries.
“Among those arrested include truly alarming criminals: murderers wanted in their home countries, child predators, and drug traffickers,” Homeland Security Investigations New England Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol stated.
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Operation Patriot specifically targeted members of notorious transnational criminal organizations operating in and around Boston and throughout Massachusetts, including MS-13, Tren de Aragua, Trinitarios, and 18th Street gangs.
“This was a massive, multiagency immigration enforcement operation aimed at keeping our region safe from habitual lawbreakers who have flouted our country’s immigration laws and, in many cases, committed violent crimes that have endangered our families, friends, and neighbors for far too long,” added FBI Boston Acting Special Agent in Charge Kimberly Milka. She highlighted the removal of “hundreds of illegal alien offenders… including murderers, gang members, child predators and a possible associate of a suspected terrorist.”
Many of the apprehensions were made “at large” in Massachusetts communities after local jurisdictions declined to honor immigration detainer requests, opting instead to release these individuals from custody. DEA New England Acting Special Agent in Charge Stephen Belleau underscored the DEA’s support in removing “violent criminal aliens from our communities,” particularly those involved in drug investigations and linked to designated foreign terrorist organizations.
Of those apprehended, 277 had previously been ordered removed from the U.S. by an immigration judge but refused to comply, remaining in the country illegally. The operation even extended to simultaneous actions on Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, where approximately 40 illegal aliens were arrested, including a child sex predator and a violent transnational gang member.
The detailed list of those arrested paints a grim picture:
- A 55-year-old Salvadoran national with an active Interpol Red Notice for aggravated homicide, robbery, kidnapping, and theft in El Salvador.
- A 32-year-old Guatemalan national and registered sex offender facing multiple charges of indecent assault and battery and trafficking for sexual servitude.
- A 37-year-old Honduran national with arrests for rape, witness intimidation, and kidnapping of a minor, along with multiple DUI convictions.
- A 22-year-old Colombian national charged with aggravated rape and kidnapping, released by local authorities despite an ICE detainer.
- A 45-year-old Guatemalan national convicted of murder in Boston in 2020.
- A 29-year-old Brazilian national charged with aggravated child rape and child pornography possession.
- A 48-year-old Salvadoran national with a criminal history including aggravated child rape.
- A 32-year-old Brazilian citizen and a 24-year-old Brazilian citizen, both with active Interpol Red Notices for drug trafficking and murder, respectively, in Brazil.
All individuals apprehended during Operation Patriot will remain in ICE custody as they await removal proceedings or deportation from the United States, marking a significant win for public safety in Massachusetts.
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