***  BEYOND OUR BRIDGES ***  TWO RECENT ERO ARRESTS IN MASSACHUSETTS

ABOVE: ICE file photo/HN edits… ERO BOSTON ARRESTS BRAZILIAN NONCITIZEN CHARGED W/ VIOLENT CRIMES AGAINST MASSACHUSETTS CHILD MARLBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – [ICE MEDIA STATEMENT, NO BOOKING PHOTO PROVIDED] – Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston apprehended an unlawfully present 24-year-old Brazilian noncitizen charged locally with assault and battery on a child with an injury, assault and battery against a family or household member, two counts of strangulation or suffocation, and intimidation charges. Officers from ERO Boston arrested Mateus Silva-Kerkovshy Aug. 16 in Marlborough. “Mateus Silva-Kerkovshy allegedly committed some extremely violent acts against a child with an injury and represents a dire threat to the residents of Massachusetts,” said ERO Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde. “We cannot allow such a threat to remain in our communities. ERO Boston will continue to prioritize the safety of our public by aggressively arresting and removing egregious noncitizen offenders from our New England neighborhoods.” U.S. Border Patrol arrested Silva Oct. 22, 2021, after he unlawfully entered the United States near San Luis, Arizona. U.S. Border Patrol issued Silva a notice to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge and took him into custody. U.S. Border Patrol released Silva from custody after he was granted parole Oct. 29, 2021. On March 29, 2023, a Department of Justice immigration judge ordered Silva removed from the United States to Brazil. The Hudson Police Department arrested Silva Aug. 9 and charged him with with assault and battery on a child with an injury, assault and battery against a family or household member, two counts of strangulation or suffocation and intimidation charges. Later that day, the Marlborough District Court arraigned Silva on those charges. ERO Boston lodged an immigration detainer against Silva Aug. 9 with the Marlborough District Court. The Marlborough District Court transferred Silva Aug. 16 into the custody ERO Boston at the Marlborough District Court’s detention facility. Silva remains in ERO custody. ERO conducts removals of individuals without a lawful basis to remain in the United States, including at the order of immigration judges with the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review. The Executive Office for Immigration Review is a separate entity from the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Immigration judges in these courts make decisions based on the merits of each individual case, determining if a noncitizen is subject to a final order of removal or eligible for certain forms of relief from removal. 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 crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.         ERO BOSTON ARRESTS GUATEMALAN NONCITIZEN CHARGED W/ SEX CRIMES, WITNESS INTIMIDATION AGAINST MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENT BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – [ICE MEDIA STATEMENT, NO BOOKING PHOTO PROVIDED] –  Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston apprehended an unlawfully present Guatemalan noncitizen charged with aggravated rape, witness intimidation and indecent assault and battery of a Massachusetts resident. Officers from ERO Boston arrested 49-year-old Elmer Perez Aug. 15 in North Dartmouth. “Elmer Perez unlawfully entered the United States before making his way to Massachusetts where he allegedly committed vile and disturbing crimes in our Massachusetts community,” said ERO Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde. “Perez posed a significant threat to our residents that we will not tolerate. ERO Boston will continue to prioritize public safety by apprehending and removing noncitizen offenders from our New England neighborhoods.” Perez unlawfully entered the United States on an unknown date, at an unknown location, without inspection, admission or parole by a U.S. immigration official. ERO Boston lodged an immigration detainer against Perez Dec. 20, 2019, with the Bristol County Superior Court The Bristol County Superior Court arraigned Perez Feb. 21, 2020, on charges of aggravated rape, rape, intimidation of a witness and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 years of age. The Bristol County Superior Court notified ERO Boston that Perez would be released from custody Aug. 15. Authorities at the Bristol Superior Court detention facility honored ERO Boston’s immigration detainer and released Perez Aug. 15 into the custody of ERO Boston deportation officers. Perez remains in ERO custody. As part of its mission to identify and arrest removable noncitizens, ERO lodges immigration detainers against noncitizens who have been arrested for criminal activity and taken into custody by state or local law enforcement. An immigration detainer is a request from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to state or local law enforcement agencies to notify ICE as early as possible before a removable noncitizen is released from their custody. Detainers request that state or local law enforcement agencies maintain custody of the noncitizen for a period not to exceed 48 hours beyond the time the individual would otherwise be released, allowing ERO to assume custody for removal purposes in accordance with federal law. Detainers are critical public safety tools because they focus enforcement resources on removable noncitizens who have been arrested for criminal activity. Detainers increase the safety of all parties involved — ERO personnel, law enforcement officials, the removable noncitizens and the public — by allowing an arrest to be made in a secure and controlled custodial setting as opposed to at-large within the community. Since detainers result in the direct transfer of a noncitizen from state or local custody to ERO custody, they also minimize the potential that an individual will reoffend. Additionally, detainers conserve scarce government resources by allowing ERO to take criminal noncitizens into custody directly rather than expending resources locating these individuals at-large. ERO conducts removals of individuals without a lawful basis to remain in the United States, including at the order of immigration judges with the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review. The Executive Office for Immigration Review is a separate entity from the Department of Homeland Security and ICE. Immigration judges in these courts make decisions based on the merits of each individual case, determining if a noncitizen is subject to a final order of removal or eligible for certain forms of relief from removal. 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 crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.