Criminal illegal migrants continue to be apprehended in Massachusetts as the state’s Democratic leaders make clear their opposition to President-elect Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda.
In the span of less than a week, deportation officers arrested three different illegal migrants in Massachusetts either accused of raping a child or convicted of raping a child, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced in a slate of press releases on Wednesday. The arrests took place across a state that limits local law enforcement’s ability to cooperate with ICE agents.
Deportation officers arrested Brazilian national Alexandre Romao De Oliveira on Nov. 18 in Methuen, according to the agency. Oliveira had been convicted by a Brazilian criminal court in February 2022 on child rape charges before fleeing the country and unlawfully crossing into the U.S. later that year.
ICE agents arrested Colombian national Billy Erney Buitrago-Bustos on Nov. 15 in Pittsfield, the agency confirmed. Bustos — who legally entered the country in 2016 but failed to depart under the terms of his visa — had been arrested by the Great Barrington Police Department for rape of child by force. Local authorities honored the ICE detainer placed on Bustos, allowing agents to apprehend him after he posted bail.
Deportation officers also arrested Guatemalan national Mynor Stiven De Paz-Munoz on Nov. 12 in Great Barrington, according to the agency. Paz-Munoz — who unlawfully entered the U.S. in September 2020 — had been arrested by the Great Barrington Police Department in February for child rape. However, unlike in the previous case, ICE says local authorities ignored their detainer on Paz-Munoz, forcing agents to apprehend him out in the community.
“Mynor Stiven De Paz-Munoz stands accused of horrifically victimizing a Massachusetts child and represents a significant threat to our neighborhoods,” acting Field Office Director Patricia Hyde said in a press statement. “We owe it to the children of our New England communities to prioritize public safety above everything else.”
The arrests come after both the Massachusetts governor and the Boston mayor have publicly declared they will not be helping the Trump administration carry out its goal of mass deportation in any capacity. Trump — who has vowed to hire more Border Patrol agents, bring back various Trump-era enforcement programs and end birthright citizenship for those born to illegal migrant parents — has also pledged to carry out the largest deportation program in U.S. history.
When asked shortly after the election, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat, said she would “absolutely not” be assisting the incoming administration with its mass deportation plans. The governor had declared a state of emergency in 2023 over the massive number of migrants arriving in her state.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu stated that she would protect migrants in “every possible way” from the president-elect’s mass deportation agenda, according to the Boston Herald. In response to those comments, former ICE acting director Tom Homan — who will serve as Trump’s border czar — said Wu was “not very smart” and encouraged her to educate herself on federal immigration law.
While Boston and a host of other cities in Massachusetts are self-identified “sanctuary” cities, the entire state is also labeled as a sanctuary for illegal migrants, according to the Center for Immigration Studies. The group cites a 2017 court decision that limits law enforcement’s ability to honor ICE detainers.
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