he United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency says agents from its Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston have apprehended an unlawfully present Dominican Republic national recently arrested by Rhode Island police on multiple felony drug trafficking charges.
ICE said ERO Boston officers in Providence arrested the 28-year-old on April 18 after local authorities ignored an ICE immigration detainer and released him from custody without notifying ERO Boston.
“In addition to violating US immigration laws, this unlawfully present individual is facing felony drug charges, and should not just be released onto the streets of our community,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons. “When jurisdictions ignore immigration detainers and release such individuals back into the community, they create threats to the safety of our residents. ERO Boston seeks to cooperate with our local partners create safer neighborhoods for everyone in New England.”
ICE said US Border Patrol apprehended the Dominican Republican national October 28, 2022, near the Paso Del Norte Bridge in El Paso, Texas, after he unlawfully entered the United States without authorization.
On March 28, 2024, ICE said the Providence Police Department arrested and charged him with two counts of manufacture, possession and delivery of narcotics, and one count of manufacture, possession and delivery of cocaine — all felony offenses under Rhode Island law.
ICE said ERO Boston lodged an immigration detainer against the Dominican Republic national with the Rhode Island Adult Correctional Institute in Cranston on April 3.
However, ICE said disregarding the active immigration detainer, the Rhode Island Superior Court ordered his release back into the community on April 18.
Later that day, ICE said ERO Boston deportation officers in Providence arrested the Dominican Republic native without incident.
ICE said he will be held in ICE custody pending a future hearing before a US Department of Justice (DOJ) immigration judge.
As part of its mission to identify and arrest removable noncitizens, ICE said 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.
ICE said 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.
