U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Removal Operations officers (ERO) assigned to the Boston area apprehended a Salvadoran migrant unlawfully present in the United States who was wanted in his home country for crimes against humanity. Officers arrested the 50-year-old fugitive in Tisbury on September 17, according to ICE officials. The migrant, who is currently detained and awaiting removal, has a lengthy immigration history within the United States.
ERO Boston Acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde described the crimes the unnamed migrant is accused of committing as “extremely serious and disturbing” saying, “He attempted to hide out in Massachusetts and escape the law in his home country. He posed a substantial threat to the residents of Martha’s Vineyard.”
The suspect’s long history with immigration authorities began when U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended the Salvadoran fugitive on November 27, 1994, after he unlawfully entered the United States near Harlingen, Texas. He was issued a notice to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge but was released from custody.
On June 21, 1995, a DOJ immigration judge ordered the Salvadoran noncitizen removed from the United States to El Salvador in absentia. In 2003, the migrant was convicted of disorderly conduct and sentenced to a fine and court costs in Portland, Maine. Six years later, the migrant was encountered in the Boston area and was arrested by ICE ERO officers in 2009 in Framingham and released on an order of supervision.
ERO Boston placed the Salvadoran noncitizen into the Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program and issued a departure plan. However, the Salvadoran national violated the terms of the ATD program, according to ICE. Officers from ERO Boston again apprehended the Salvadoran national May 18, 2010, and removed the migrant from the United States to El Salvador on June 20, 2011.
The Salvadoran noncitizen unlawfully re-entered the United States on an unknown date, at an unknown location, and without inspection, admission, or parole by a U.S. immigration official — a felony under U.S. federal law 8 United States Code section 1326. Salvadoran authorities charged him on July 11, 2011, with crimes against humanity and illegal trafficking of persons. ICE provided no specific details concerning the crimes.
The migrant is likely to face quick removal to El Salvador to face a justice system much changed since his last visit to his home country. In 2023, El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele opened the Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT), a mega prison larger than all other existing prisons within El Salvador. The opening was part of a crackdown on crime in the country that has seen murder rates drop by more than 70%. As reported by Breitbart News, at the time of the opening of CECOT, more than 64,000 suspects had been arrested as part of President Bukele’s crackdown on crime and gang violence.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.
