Wanted Brazilian citizen previously removed from the US twice after Arizona, Massachusetts, incidents, arrested

BOSTON — Officers with Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston arrested a Brazilian national with an international arrest warrant in Burlington on Feb. 17. The fugitive had been convicted of document fraud and sentenced to two years in prison in Brazil.

According to ERO Boston, the unlawfully present Brazilian citizen was removed twice previously from the United States and was arrested without incident.

“Fugitives from justice have no right to attempt to circumvent our legal immigration system to hide from their crimes,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd Lyons. “Due to the dedication of our officers, this individual is no longer able to evade justice and will have to face the consequences of his criminal activity in Brazil. Preventing the manipulation and abuse of the U.S. immigration system is one of ERO Boston’s core missions and I’m very proud of the professional men and women of ERO Boston whose important work is instrumental in its preservation.”

Following an arrest by local police in 2008, ERO Boston issued a detainer for the fugitive noncitizen, who was not named, who was subsequently determined to have unlawfully entered the United States. He was placed into removal proceedings and immigration authorities allowed him to voluntarily depart the country, which he did in November 2008.

U.S. Border Patrol apprehended the fugitive noncitizen in June 2019 near Douglas, Arizona, after it was determined that he unlawfully entered the United States without inspection. He was charged with inadmissibility, issued a Notice to Appear before an immigration judge and released pending removal proceedings.

In August 2022, a Brazilian federal court convicted the fugitive and sentenced him to two years in prison by for use of a false document in the Coxim, a city in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. After Brazilian law enforcement authorities issued an international criminal warrant for his arrest, ERO Boston officials were alerted to his fugitive status and arrested him.

Pending the outcome of an immigration court hearing, the individual will remain in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. ICE will seek his removal.