BOSTON, MA - This may not please Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) or Boston Mayor Michelle Wu (D), but it will make Massachusetts residents and visitors a bit safer.
A news release issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reports that over 1,400 illegal aliens have been apprehended throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts “during a week-long immigration enforcement operation.” The operation targeted “transnational organized crime, gangs, and egregious illegal alien offenders.”
The operation, named Operation Patriot 2.0, included officers from ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston and ICE Homeland Security Investigations New England, along with partners from the FBI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the DEA, the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
All told, 1,406 illegal aliens were arrested between Sept. 4 and Sept. 30.
“Patriot 2.0 exposed the grave consequences of sanctuary policies and the urgent need for local leaders to prioritize their constituents’ safety over politics,” acting ICE Director Todd M. Lyons said.
“Every illegal alien we arrested during the operation was breaking U.S. immigration law, and hundreds were violent criminals who should never have been allowed to roam freely in our communities. Local law enforcement agencies released them instead of handing them over to us in a secure environment, and this puts neighborhoods, law enforcement officers, and illegal aliens at risk. Local politicians are responsible for protecting their constituents, so they need to step up and end irresponsible sanctuary policies.”
It should be noted that Massachusetts, despite denials to the contrary, is a sanctuary state.
ICE reported that of those arrested, over 600 had “significant criminal convictions or pending criminal charges for crimes committed in the United States,” while others were known foreign fugitives.
The operation “targeted egregious criminal alien offenders, including transnational criminal organizations known to operate in and around Boston and throughout the state of Massachusetts.” Those groups included MS-13, Tren de Aragua, Trinitarios, and 18th Street gangs. Meanwhile, six of the arrests “were documented members of transnational criminal gangs while several others were gang associates.”
Many others had foreign arrest warrants and Interpol Red Notices. Many of the criminal alien offenders wanted by authorities in several foreign countries. Three of those arrested were known or suspected terrorists.
“The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a significantly safer place to live and work thanks to the hard work and determination of the men and women of ICE and our federal partners.
Working together, we were able to arrest more than 1,400 illegal aliens throughout the commonwealth, many of whom had significant criminality in the United States or abroad,” said ICE ERO Boston acting Field Office Director David Wesling.
“These include criminal offenders who victimized innocent people and traumatized entire communities–murderers, rapists, drug traffickers, child sex predators, and members of violent transnational criminal gangs. All made the mistake of attempting to undermine U.S. immigration law by hiding out in Massachusetts.
ICE HSI New England Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol praised other federal partners for working to get the worst of the worst off the streets.
“Public safety and national security remain our number one priority, and we will not relent,” Krol said.
“Operation Patriot 2.0 should send a clear and unmistakable message: If you are in this country illegally, hiding out and committing crimes, the FBI and our partners will find you, we will arrest you, and we will remove you from our communities,” said Ted E. Docks, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston field office.
Docks noted that of those arrested, hundreds had been previously ordered to leave the country, but chose to remain. Despite the narrative pushed by pro-alien demagogues, those taken into custody were “threats to public safety.
“The FBI will not sit idly by and let our immigration system be exploited because the rule of law is not optional,” Docks continued.
District of Massachusetts Acting U.S. Marshal Kevin Neal vowed that the agency would continue to enforce the law to protect residents of Massachusetts and the country as a whole.
“The results of Operation Patriot 2.0 make one thing clear: Violent criminals who threaten the safety of our communities will be held accountable.
In close partnership with our federal law enforcement colleagues, we have helped arrest dangerous criminals–including murderers, gang members, rapists, sex offenders, and drug traffickers–who have no place in our communities,” Neal said.
ICE and federal law enforcement assets were pressed into action after local police agencies refused to honor immigration detainer requests to turn over offenders, forcing federal agencies to apprehend offenders at large within Massachusetts cities and towns.
“The U.S. Attorney’s office will continue to prioritize working with our law enforcement partners to root out and prosecute individuals who are illegally in the United States and breaking federal laws,” said U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley. “By removing these individuals, we have made our communities safer.”
Of those apprehended, 277 had been previously ordered removed from the U.S. by an immigration judge; however, they refused to comply with their removal orders and remained in the country.
ATF Boston Special Agent in Charge Thomas Greco praised the operation and said the agency “will continue to seek the removal of anyone engaged in criminal conduct while unlawfully present in the United States.”
The DEA was also involved in the operation and was focused on investigations involving dangerous drug trafficking by illegals.
“DEA’s core mission is to keep the American public safe by seizing deadly drugs before they get into our communities, and to bring justice to the criminals responsible for manufacturing, distributing, and supplying these drugs,” said Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget of the New England Field Division.
“The Diplomatic Security Service is proud to stand alongside our federal law enforcement partners to disrupt transnational organized crime and illegal alien offenders in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” said DSS Boston Special Agent in Charge Matthew O’Brien. “Operation Patriot 2.0 demonstrates our shared commitment to protecting our communities, upholding the rule of law, and safeguarding national security.”
All illegal aliens picked up during Operation Patriot 2.0 will remain in ICE custody pending the outcome of their removal proceedings or their deportation from the United States.
Among the worst offenders arrested during the operation are:
Jose Orellana-Pena, 53, of El Salvador, who has a history of convictions for indecent assault and battery on a person, assault to rape, and assault and battery resulting in a sentence of one year, incident occurring in Worcester, Mass. He also has burglary convictions, failure to register as a sex offender, also in Worcester, and illegal re-entry in Springfield, Mass.
Wellington Ramos-DeSouza, 39, of Brazil, has a history including a pending rape charge in Danvers, Mass.
Raj Kumar Sah, 34, from India, is facing charges of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14, enticement of a child to engage in prostitution/human trafficking or commercial sex, in Boston.
Anderson Stephen Hernandez-Vasquez, 24, from Guatemala, whose history includes a conviction for rape of a child in Woburn, Mass.
Mauricio Eguizabal-Ovalle, 47, of El Salvador, with a criminal history, charges pending, of indecent assault and battery (seven counts), statutory rape (three counts), aggravated rape of a child with a five-year age gap, indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 (six counts), and unnatural acts with a child, offenses occurring in Bristol County, Mass.
Manuel Antonio Rivera-Eraso, 35, of Honduras, criminal history including pending charges for possession of child porn, rape of a child (four counts), and indecent assault and battery on a child, which occurred in Chelsea, Mass.
Souvanheuang Phachansiri, 64, of Laos, criminal history, including a conviction of second-degree murder resulting in a life sentence and kidnapping resulting in a sentence of 8-10 years, committed in Boston.
Perfecto Nolasco-Lopez, 21, of Guatemala, with a criminal history including convictions for indecent assault and battery on a child, assault and battery, strangulation/suffocation, and kidnapping, was sentenced to three years and one day in Essex County.
Jordani Joseph, 26, of Haiti, with a criminal history showing pending charges for rape and kidnapping in Fall River, Mass.
There are many more, several for homicides, many for drug charges, and many for sex offenses, including against children. The list, which isn’t even complete, is mind-boggling. And this was a four-week operation in a small New England state.
These are the people Healey and Wu are trying to protect.
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