ICE - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

09/24/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/24/2024 11:01

ERO Boston arrests Guatemalan national charged with sex crime against Massachusetts resident

NANTUCKET, Mass - Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston apprehended an unlawfully present 41-year-old Guatemalan noncitizen charged with a sex crime against a Nantucket resident. Officers with ERO Boston arrested Felix Alberto Perez-Gomez Sept. 11 in Nantucket.

"Felix Alberto Perez-Gomez was previously removed from the United States following convictions for reckless driving and reckless endangerment," said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons. "He then unlawfully reentered the country and made his way to our Nantucket community to apparently commit a sex crime against a resident here. Perez represents a threat to our New England residents that we cannot tolerate. ERO Boston will continue our mission to prioritize public safety by apprehending and removing egregious noncitizen offenders."

Perez unlawfully entered the United States on an unknown date, at an unknown location and without being inspected, admitted, or paroled by a U.S. immigration official.

ERO arrested Perez June 8, 2011, following his arrest for reckless driving and recklessly endangering another person in Pennsylvania. ERO served Perez with a notice to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge.

The Upper Makefield District Court convicted Perez July 11, 2011, of reckless driving and recklessly endangering another person and sentenced him to one year of probation.

On July 29, 2011, a Department of Justice immigration judge ordered Perez removed from the United States to Guatemala.

ERO removed Perez from the United States to Guatemala Aug. 11, 2011.

Perez unlawfully reentered the United States at an unknown location on an unknown date and without being admitted, inspected or paroled by a U.S. immigration official.

The Nantucket District Court arraigned Perez Aug. 19, 2024, for indecent assault and battery on a person 14 years or older.

Officers with ERO Boston arrested Perez Sept. 11 in Nantucket. He remains in ERO custody.

Detainers are critical public safety tools because they focus enforcement resources on removable noncitizens who have been arrested for criminal activity. Detainers increase the safety of all parties involved - ERO personnel, law enforcement officials, removable noncitizens and the public - by allowing an arrest to be made in a secure and controlled custodial setting as opposed to at-large within the community. Because detainers result in the direct transfer of a noncitizen from state or local custody to ERO custody, they also minimize the potential that an individual will reoffend. Additionally, detainers conserve scarce government resources by allowing ERO to take criminal noncitizens into custody directly rather than expending resources locating these individuals at-large.

ERO conducts removals of individuals without a lawful basis to remain in the United States, including at the order of immigration judges with Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review. The Executive Office for Immigration Review is a separate entity from the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Immigration judges in these courts make decisions based on the merits of each individual case, determining if a noncitizen is subject to a final order of removal or eligible for certain forms of relief from removal.

Members of the public can report crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.

Learn more about ICE's mission to increase public safety in our New England communities on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @EROBoston.