ERO Boston arrests previously removed Dominican national convicted of fentanyl trafficking

BOSTON — Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston arrested an unlawfully present citizen of the Dominican Republic on April 27. The Dominican national was previously convicted in U.S. federal court of possession and distribution of fentanyl.

“ERO Boston is committed to addressing the deadly epidemic of fentanyl that is ravaging our communities,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd Lyons. “The toll of fentanyl and its trafficking in our region has had a devastating impact on our communities. We will continue to track, apprehend and remove traffickers like this individual who have no right to be present in the country and whose drug dealing will not be tolerated.”

Drug Enforcement Administration agents arrested the Dominican national, who unlawfully entered the United States before 2019, in November 2019. He was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl in April 2021 and sentenced to 21 months in U.S. federal prison.

The man completed his federal prison sentence in May 2021, and an immigration judge with the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review ordered him removed the next month. Officials removed the man from the United States in July 2021. His federal felony conviction was a primary determinant in his being found eligible for removal from the United States.

On an unknown date, the foreign national unlawfully returned to the United States following his removal to the Dominican Republic. ERO Boston located and apprehended him without incident and will seek to reinstate the EOIR immigration judge’s final order of removal.

ERO Boston did not release the name of the suspect.