
Federal immigration officials arrest 3 child rape suspects in Mass.

Three foreign nationals were taken into custody earlier this month by federal immigration authorities who announced the cases, each of which involves a child sex crime, on Wednesday.Two of the men are accused of rape of a child in Massachusetts, and the third is a fugitive wanted for a similar crime in his home country, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.Stiven De Paz-Munoz, 21, a Guatemalan national, was arrested by the Great Barrington Police Department on Feb. 29, on charges including rape of a child by force, rape of a child, and indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or older, according to ICE. The agency believes he entered the country on Sept. 24, 2020, without permission and was released by the U.S. Border Patrol with a notice to appear before a Department of Justice Executive Office of Immigration Review judge.ICE officials said that De Paz-Munoz was released on bail for the local charges despite the issuance of a detainer. ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officers rearrested him on Nov. 12 in Great Barrington. Three days later, agents arrested Billy Erney Buitrago-Bustos, 42, in Pittsfield.ICE said Buitrago-Bustos, a Colombian national, entered the country on May 4, 2016, through John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and failed to depart under the terms of his visa. He was originally arrested by the Great Barrington Police Department on Oct. 8, 2023, for rape of a child by force, statutory rape, and aggravated rape.He posted bail on Nov. 15 and was released by the Berkshire County Jail and House of Correction into ERO custody. The third case is that of accused Brazillian fugitive Alexandre Romao De Oliveira, 41, who was arrested on Nov. 18 in Methuen. ICE said he was convicted in Brazil of rape of a child and sentenced to serve 14 years, but fled the country prior to serving his sentence.ICE said Romao De Oliveira entered the United States on Apr. 16, 2022, without admission by an immigration official and was released from DHS custody after receiving a notice to appear before a Department of Justice Executive Office of Immigration Review judge.The trio of announcements from ICE drew attention from conservative political figures — including billionaire Elon Musk, an ally of Donald Trump. In a post on his social media platform, Musk linked the arrests to so-called “sanctuary city” policies.Sanctuary cities are communities where municipal laws limit local cooperation, including from police officers, on the enforcement of federal immigration laws. According to a report from The Berkshire Eagle newspaper, the Great Barrington Select Board adopted similar regulations in 2016. Methuen and Pittsfield do not have related regulations.”Methuen is not a sanctuary city, and the Methuen Police Department has a clearly defined policy on the books that addresses the department’s role regarding the enforcement of the federal government’s immigration laws,” said Acting Methuen Mayor D.J. Beauregard. “Our police department was alerted of the recent ICE arrest, but ICE did not request assistance from local law enforcement.”Regardless of a community’s local ordinance, there are state-level rules imposed by a 2017 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision that determined local officials cannot hold someone solely based on a civil immigration detainer. The politics around the issue of these rules has heated up substantially since Donald Trump’s presidential victory earlier this month. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who spoke about leading a sanctuary city during Sunday’s episode of WCVB’s “On The Record,” was recently the target of a warning from Trump’s incoming “border czar,” Tom Homan.Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has also been targeted with criticism for saying state police would “absolutely not” cooperate with mass deportations. In cases like the three recently reported by ICE, however, Healey said she supports deportation. “As part of immigration enforcement, the Governor believes individuals who commit violent crimes like those alleged here should be deported,” she said.
Three foreign nationals were taken into custody earlier this month by federal immigration authorities who announced the cases, each of which involves a child sex crime, on Wednesday.
Two of the men are accused of rape of a child in Massachusetts, and the third is a fugitive wanted for a similar crime in his home country, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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Stiven De Paz-Munoz, 21, a Guatemalan national, was arrested by the Great Barrington Police Department on Feb. 29, on charges including rape of a child by force, rape of a child, and indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or older, according to ICE. The agency believes he entered the country on Sept. 24, 2020, without permission and was released by the U.S. Border Patrol with a notice to appear before a Department of Justice Executive Office of Immigration Review judge.
ICE officials said that De Paz-Munoz was released on bail for the local charges despite the issuance of a detainer. ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officers rearrested him on Nov. 12 in Great Barrington.
Three days later, agents arrested Billy Erney Buitrago-Bustos, 42, in Pittsfield.
ICE said Buitrago-Bustos, a Colombian national, entered the country on May 4, 2016, through John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and failed to depart under the terms of his visa. He was originally arrested by the Great Barrington Police Department on Oct. 8, 2023, for rape of a child by force, statutory rape, and aggravated rape.
He posted bail on Nov. 15 and was released by the Berkshire County Jail and House of Correction into ERO custody.
The third case is that of accused Brazillian fugitive Alexandre Romao De Oliveira, 41, who was arrested on Nov. 18 in Methuen. ICE said he was convicted in Brazil of rape of a child and sentenced to serve 14 years, but fled the country prior to serving his sentence.
ICE said Romao De Oliveira entered the United States on Apr. 16, 2022, without admission by an immigration official and was released from DHS custody after receiving a notice to appear before a Department of Justice Executive Office of Immigration Review judge.
The trio of announcements from ICE drew attention from conservative political figures — including billionaire Elon Musk, an ally of Donald Trump. In a post on his social media platform, Musk linked the arrests to so-called “sanctuary city” policies.
Sanctuary cities are communities where municipal laws limit local cooperation, including from police officers, on the enforcement of federal immigration laws.
According to a report from The Berkshire Eagle newspaper, the Great Barrington Select Board adopted similar regulations in 2016. Methuen and Pittsfield do not have related regulations.
“Methuen is not a sanctuary city, and the Methuen Police Department has a clearly defined policy on the books that addresses the department’s role regarding the enforcement of the federal government’s immigration laws,” said Acting Methuen Mayor D.J. Beauregard. “Our police department was alerted of the recent ICE arrest, but ICE did not request assistance from local law enforcement.”
Regardless of a community’s local ordinance, there are state-level rules imposed by a 2017 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision that determined local officials cannot hold someone solely based on a civil immigration detainer.
The politics around the issue of these rules has heated up substantially since Donald Trump’s presidential victory earlier this month.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who spoke about leading a sanctuary city during Sunday’s episode of WCVB’s “On The Record,” was recently the target of a warning from Trump’s incoming “border czar,” Tom Homan.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has also been targeted with criticism for saying state police would “absolutely not” cooperate with mass deportations. In cases like the three recently reported by ICE, however, Healey said she supports deportation.
“As part of immigration enforcement, the Governor believes individuals who commit violent crimes like those alleged here should be deported,” she said.