Massachusetts has experienced a concerning rise in sex offense arrests involving illegal immigrants in recent months, coinciding with state and local resistance to stricter immigration enforcement measures. Since August, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has apprehended 26 illegal immigrants in the Boston area for child sex crimes, ranging from rape and sexual assault to child pornography distribution. Disturbingly, many of these individuals had been previously deported but illegally re-entered the U.S.
One recent case involved Adrian Patricio Huerta-Nivelo, a 25-year-old illegal immigrant wanted for rape of a minor in Ecuador, who was deported on December 3rd. This deportation occurred shortly after the Boston City Council reaffirmed a 2019 ordinance limiting local law enforcement cooperation with ICE, ostensibly to protect immigrant communities. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has also voiced opposition to increased deportations, although a spokesperson clarified that she believes violent criminals should be removed from the country. Despite the alarming trend, Boston officials, including Mayor Michelle Wu, have remained largely unresponsive to inquiries about these crimes.
Throughout November, ICE arrested six more individuals for child sex offenses, including Salvador Castro Garcia, a Honduran national previously deported in 2001, and Felix Meletz Guarcas, a Guatemalan national charged with multiple counts of child sexual assault. ICE's arrest of Guarcas was complicated by the Rhode Island Department of Corrections' refusal to honor a detainer request. Other arrests in November included Belardis Tapia Gonzalez from the Dominican Republic, Alexandre Romao De Oliveira from Brazil, Billy Erney Buitrago-Bustos from Colombia, and Mynor Stiven De Paz-Munoz from Guatemala, all facing charges related to child sexual abuse.
October saw three additional arrests, including Andre Tiago Lucas from Brazil, convicted in his home country of raping a 13-year-old, as well as Mateo Hincapie Cardona from Colombia and Selvin Alex Galvez-Mejia from Guatemala, both facing charges related to child sexual exploitation. In September, nine more individuals were arrested, including Maynor Francisco Hernandez-Rodas from Guatemala, charged with the forcible rape of a Massachusetts minor, and seven others apprehended within a single week on various child sex crime charges. August saw the arrest of six more illegal immigrants for similar offenses.
