ERO Boston arrests Guatemalan national charged with unlawful re-entry, assault, battery

BOSTON - Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston apprehended an unlawfully present 27-year-old Guatemalan national charged with illegal reentry after removal and assault and battery on a family member. Deportation officers from ERO Boston arrested Darvin Joel Mendez-Lopez July 23 in Lynn.

This arrest was part of a national ERO operation. Deportation officers obtained and executed 50 arrest warrants during the one-day nationwide law enforcement effort July 23. The warrants are related to ICE's Title 8 authority over noncitizens who threaten public safety and have previously been removed from the United States.

"Darvin Joel Mendez-Lopez repeatedly broke U.S. immigration law and has now been charged with assaulting a Massachusetts resident," said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons. "Our officers cannot allow such individuals to threaten our communities. ERO Boston remains dedicated to our mission of prioritizing public safety by apprehending and removing egregious noncitizen offenders from out New England neighborhoods."

Between March 4 and March 27, 2015, U.S. Border Patrol apprehended Mendez on two separate occasions after he unlawfully entered the United States near McAllen, Texas.

On March 5 and March 28, 2015, designated officials in McAllen ordered Mendez removed from the United States.

ICE removed Mendez from the United States to Guatemala March 10, 2015, and again April 6, 2015.

The Lynn District Court arraigned Mendez May 12, 2020, for assault and battery. Later that day, ERO Boston issued an immigration detainer against Mendez with the Lynn District Court. However, the detainer was not honored, and the court released Mendez from state custody.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued a warrant for Mendez's arrest Aug. 25, 2020, for illegal reentry after removal.

Mendez fled the United States Sept. 4, 2020, from New York to Mexico City, Mexico. From there, Mendez traveled to Guatemala, where he resided.

U.S. Border Patrol apprehended Mendez on three occasions: May 17, June 16 and June 19, 2021, after he unlawfully reentered the United States in Texas. On each occasion, U.S. Border Patrol processed Mendez as a voluntary return.

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

On Feb. 26, 2024, the ICE Tip Line received information regarding a previously removed noncitizen living in Lynn with an ICE warrant of removal for illegal reentry.

Deportation officers from ERO Boston arrested Mendez July 23 in Lynn. Later that day, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts arraigned Mendez for illegal reentry after removal. Mendez 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 with information regarding noncitizen offenders can report crimes or suspicious activity by dialing the ICE Tip Line at 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.

As one of ICE's three operational directorates, ERO is the principal federal law enforcement authority in charge of domestic immigration enforcement. ERO's mission is to protect the homeland through the arrest and removal of those who undermine the safety of U.S. communities and the integrity of U.S. immigration laws, and its primary areas of focus are interior enforcement operations, management of the agency's detained and non-detained populations, and repatriation of noncitizens who have received final orders of removal. ERO's workforce consists of more than 7,700 law enforcement and non-law enforcement support personnel across 25 domestic field offices and 208 locations nationwide, 30 overseas postings, and multiple temporary duty travel assignments along the border.

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

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