ERO Boston arrests Ecuadoran national convicted of assault, sex crimes against Connecticut child

HARTFORD, Conn. - Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston arrested an unlawfully present Ecuadoran national who was convicted of second degree assault and indecent assault of a child in Connecticut. Deportation officers from ERO Boston's Hartford field office apprehended the 27-year-old Ecuadoran native in Hartford April 17. Local authorities had previously declined to honor ERO Boston's immigration detainer and released the Ecuadoran national without notifying U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.

"This convicted sex offender presented a significant threat to the children of our Connecticut communities," said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons. "This individual should never have been released back on the streets. Thanks to the hard work of our officers in Hartford, he was removed from the community and no longer poses a threat to our residents. ERO Boston will continue to prioritize public safety throughout the neighborhoods of New England."

U.S. Border Patrol apprehended the Ecuadoran national in May 2015, after he unlawfully entered the United States in Texas without authorization. Border Patrol officials served him with a notice to appear before a Department of Justice (DOJ) immigration judge.

In August 2015, a DOJ immigration judge granted him release from custody with an order of recognizance on a surety bond.

The Ecuadoran citizen was arrested by the Danbury Police Department March 13, 2020, for the offenses of second-degree assault and assault with risk of injury to child - a sex crime under Connecticut state law.

On March 16, 2020, ERO Boston officers in Hartford lodged an immigration detainer seeking his custody with the Connecticut Department of Corrections.

The Connecticut Superior Court in Danbury convicted the unlawfully present Ecuadoran citizen of second degree assault and assault with risk of injury to child April 13, 2021. The court sentenced him to five years in state prison Jan. 13, 2022, but later reduced the sentence to five years of probation and released him on probation without notifying ICE.

The Danbury Police Department arrested him May 6, 2023, for the offense of assault in the third degree and violation of probation.

On May 7, 2023, ICE lodged an immigration detainer seeking custody of against the Ecuadoran citizen the Connecticut Department of Corrections.

The Connecticut Superior Court convicted the Ecuadoran national of third degree assault and violation of probation Jan. 25, 2024, and sentenced him to one year in state prison, which was subsequently reduced to three years of probation.

Despite the existence of an active immigration detainer issued by ERO Boston, the Ecuadoran national was released from the Connecticut Department of Corrections. ERO Boston was provided no notification of his release back into the community.

On April 17, 2024, deportation officers from ERO Boston arrested the Ecuadoran native without incident in Hartford. He will be held in ICE custody pending a future hearing before a DOJ immigration judge.

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 ICE 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, 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. Because 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 DOJ's Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). EOIR 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 with information regarding child sex offenders can report crimes or suspicious activity by dialing the ICE Tip Line at 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.

Learn more about ERO Boston's mission to increase public safety in our New England communities on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @EROBoston.

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