ERO Boston arrests 20-year-old El Salvadoran national gang member released on bail after felony charges

BOSTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston arrested a 20-year-old El Salvadoran national Dec. 17, after he posted bail, and the Chelsea District Court released him without honoring an ICE immigration detainer.

Luis Balmore Borja-Bautista unlawfully entered the United States on May 17, 2017, and is an active member of the 18th Street Security Threat Group with several pending felony charges.

“ERO Boston will continue to arrest noncitizens facing felony charges regardless of whether jurisdictions choose to honor immigration detainers,” said ERO Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde. “As federal law enforcement officers and public servants, we are absolutely committed to protecting the communities and neighborhoods where we live and work.”

ERO previously arrested Borja-Bautista Nov. 21 and turned him over to the Chelsea Police for prosecution in Chelsea District Court. The Chelsea District Court arraigned Borja-Bautista on the same date for two counts of possession to distribute a class B controlled substance, trafficking in a controlled substance of 18 Grams or more, and possession of ammunition without a firearms license, and those charges remain open. The Chelsea District Court ordered Borja-Bautista held at the Suffolk County House of Corrections, Nashua Street Jail.

ERO placed a detainer on Borja-Bautista that day but Borja-Bautista posted bail on Nov. 22, and was returned to the Chelsea District Court, which released Borja-Bautista without honoring the ICE detainer.

“Since ERO officers were denied the opportunity to arrest Borja-Bautista in a safe and controlled environment like a court or jail setting, we spent over three weeks verifying his whereabouts and subsequently arresting him in Chelsea,” Hyde said. “This arrest occurred without incident, but the risk to public and officer safety increases any time our officers have to make these types of arrests.”

Borja-Bautista has been placed in removal proceedings and remains in ICE custody.