Two fugitives arrested by immigration officials on Vineyard

Three arrests have been made on Martha's Vineyard in the past few months by immigration officials.

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Updated 1:55 pm

Two international fugitives were arrested on Martha’s Vineyard by Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston earlier this month on charges that they allegedly committed in their native countries, according to press releases issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday. 

On Sept. 17, customs officials arrested a 50-year-old Salvadoran man in Tisbury. He was charged in 2011 with crimes against humanity and illegal trafficking of persons by Salvadoran authorities. 

Also on Sept. 17, a 36-year-old Brazilian man was arrested in Oak Bluffs for international drug trafficking crimes. 

Names of both men were not released.

“With no U.S. criminality, we can’t release personal identifiable information,” James Covington, an ICE spokesperson, told the Times. Release of this information could hinder the removal of these individuals, Covington said. 

Both fugitives are wanted by authorities in their native countries and are in ERO Boston’s custody. 

Customs officials say the Salvadoran man “unlawfully” entered the United States multiple times, the most recent entry occurring at an unknown location and unknown date “without inspection, admission or parole by a U.S. immigration official.”

The first time the Salvadoran man was apprehended for unlawful entry into the United States was in 1994 by U.S. Border Patrol. He had entered the country near Harlingen, Texas. He was ordered to be sent back to El Salvador in 1995. 

In 2003, the Superior Court of Portland, Maine convicted the Salvadoran man of disorderly conduct where he was ordered to pay a fine. The individual was again arrested by ERO Boston in Framingham in 2009 on charges related to immigration, though officials did not add specifics; he was later released on an order of supervision. ERO Boston had placed the man in an Alternatives to Detention program, a monitoring method for customs officials, and issued a departure plan. However, the man violated his program terms and was apprehended again by customs officials on May 20, 2010 before being deported to El Salvador on June 20, 2011. 

“This Salvadoran fugitive is wanted by authorities in his native country to face some extremely serious and disturbing allegations,” ERO Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde said in the release. “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. ERO Boston will continue to prioritize public safety in all of our New England communities by arresting and removing egregious noncitizen offenders.”

The Brazilian man lawfully entered the United States in Orlando, Florida on March 7, 2020 but “violated the terms of his legal admission.” The Brazilian court had convicted the individual of international drug trafficking on May 10, 2012 and sentenced him to 10 years and two months in prison. Officials did not release how he violated the terms of legal admission.

ERO Boston has also made other arrests on the Islands recently. A 24-year-old Brazilian national charged with five counts of raping a Massachusetts minor was arrested in Edgartown in August. 

On Nantucket, four Salvadoran nationals were arrested in September for various sex crimes, including a 49-year-old who was charged with 11 counts of sex crimes against a child. A fifth Salvadoran man, a 30-year-old alleged MS-13 gang member who was charged with disorderly conduct and two counts of assault and battery, was also arrested that month by ERO Boston.

Updated with information from ICE spokesperson James Covington. 

26 COMMENTS

  1. The steamship authority needs to start asking for ID’s and possibly go through a metal detector like the airlines do.

    • The SSA asked for identification some time ago — a minor disaster, I would guess. I was asked to show my identification — my driver’s license, when I was a walk-on, on my way from Vineyard Haven (the Times office, actually) to my dentist’s office in Woods Hole. I queried just what the information would do — prove that I had a license to drive a non-existent car? Was the young gentleman who request the ID going against a list in his head? Or keeping track, should he survive the terrorist attack, of all the patrons on the boat? I grudgingly went back to the Times, retrieved my wallet and brought my license to the boat. Steve, what exactly would the SSA do with the drivers’ license information? Or other ID?

  2. When will we hear from liberal commentators on this site that these people were/are here legally? The arrests on MV and ACK should not only be alarming but a wake up to call for things to come. You can no longer bury your head in the sand a pretend this isn’t a problem. Liberals need to stop governing through feelings and apply logic to policies. Enough is enough.

    • Legal immigration built our country once we stole it from those who had always lived here. We should never stop legal immigration as it is integral to our society. Illegal immigration is against the laws of our land and should be treated as such.

    • .
-The current administration’s failure to protect our border for 3 1\2 years is a treasonous offense. Merrick Garland’s Department of Justice has failed to prosecute this case.

  3. Liberals? Enough is enough? Guess the Brazilian waltzed across the MV border?
    Didn’t magas just jettison ANOTHER Immigration bill?

    • Yes Bill, enough is enough. That bill was window dressing with no teeth. It still let people at unprecedented numbers prior to the last three and a half years. Have you looked at the numbers of people let in here with criminal records under Biden Harris? You can’t be serious if you think this is a Republican problem.

  4. well, Carl, you didn’t have to wait for very long..
    But you can read– How many of these people
    were here illegally? According to the Times, one was
    illegal, and one was legal but violated something…
    So of the 7 people mentioned here, it seems only
    one entered the U.S illegally. And he was quickly deported by the
    Clinton administration

    • Jay– you should figure out what a sanctuary city is
      before you comment about them and why we have that designation.
      WXTK jocks and Fox news lie about
      what a sanctuary city does, why they do it and how the policies are implemented.
      Just to start
      “Sanctuary city policies substantially reduce deportations of undocumented
      immigrants who do not have criminal records, but have no impact on those
      who have violent criminal records” That part about no criminal record
      includes third graders and their hard working honest parents.
      That part about no impact on those with violent criminal records includes
      these criminals.
      They will be deported.

  5. So I guess Trump is right. We are getting the dregs from other countries.
    And they’re protected by not releasing their identification. so we don’t know who or to deal with them.
    What do we do when they return.

    • “The Brazilian man lawfully entered the United States in Orlando, Florida on March 7, 2020 but “violated the terms of his legal admission.” The Brazilian court had convicted the individual of international drug trafficking on May 10, 2012 and sentenced him to 10 years and two months in prison”.
      So this guy came into the U.S 2020–while apparently being a fugitive from Brazil.
      Where was the vetting ? This was 3 1/2 years into the trump administration.
      He apparently didn’t fix immigration then, and allowed
      this “dreg” into the country— legally– . why would anyone think
      he would fix it now ?
      Oh, yeah, things are different now, this time China will pay for it.

    • Not just the dregs from other countries.
      But genuine American born dregs.
      Do you know their names and what to do do about them.
      Trump knows all about dregs from other countries.
      He third “wife” is one.

  6. @ the SSA, AIRPORT FERRIES ETC…
    Where were the checkers for drugs weapons +++ ?
    The ones who needed more to do their job are asleep on the job.
    Don’t like the rules don’t visit.

  7. Carl, I don’t see you this outraged when the weekly Court List is filled with the names of USA born citizens making appearancesfor equally serious crimes.
    Or is it only crimes by foreign born residents which upsets you?

    • James, you obviously don’t know me or my law enforcement background or you wouldn’t have made your comment I suppose. I simply think we have enough crime here in the good ole US of A and we certainly don’t need to import anymore. But I guess you do? When was the last time if ever did the cape and islands arrest such violent criminals in such a short amount of time?

    • James, thank you!
      It’s time to put into perspective that immigrants are people. People who work, pay taxes, consume products, provide services, and are part of the wheel of life, just like everyone else.

  8. The disastrous Open Borders policy of the feckless Biden/Harris administration has consequences. Just ask the folks over on Nantucket who have been dealing with a crime wave linked to illegals. The sight of our border czar Kamala Harris visiting the border in Arizona for 20 minutes last week as hilarious. What a fool. The impacts of this policy will be felt for years. A vote for Harris is a vote for open borders and lawlessness. If you liked the last four years, well you’ll get that and more.

  9. I’m sorry but “what aboutism ” is what you use when you can’t respond with facts.
    Someone please dispute this statement
    Every crime committed by someone here illegally is 100% preventable

  10. Kozak are you aware that Maduro in Venezuela emptied his prisons and sent them to the US. Do you like that? All crimes are bad Kozak but crimes by illegals should be of stunning concern to you. Should we go to Honduras and tell them to send us their worst?

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