Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced this week that it had arrested a fugitive illegal Brazilian immigrant — who is wanted in his home country for not serving a prison sentence for the rape of a 5-year-old — in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.
The Brazilian, identified as 37-year-old Saulo Cardona Ferreira, received “several criminal convictions” in Brazil in 2019 for rape of a child and was sentenced to 14 years in prison, but fled the country, ICE said. The town of Sorriso, Mato Grosso, issued an arrest warrant for him.
At an unknown time and place, he entered the United States illegally, meaning he evaded Border Patrol as a “smuggler,” the agency said.
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Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested an illegal Brazilian immigrant who fled his country after being sentenced for rape of a child. (immigration and customs)
He was arrested by ICE’s Fugitive Operations Team at the Massachusetts vacation spot during a vehicle stop. After being alerted by a review of law enforcement data of his possible presence in the area in September, ICE began an investigation and arrested him near his address on Nov. 14, an ICE spokesperson said.
He is now in custody awaiting appearance before an immigration judge.
“This undocumented Brazilian national poses a significant threat to the residents of Martha’s Vineyard,” Todd Lyons, director of ICE’s Boston Field Office, said in a statement.
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“He sexually assaulted a five-year-old child in his home country and then fled authorities when he was held accountable for his actions. ERO Boston will not allow such predators to threaten our residents. We will continue to catch and remove anyone who tries to use them.” “Our New England community is a haven of justice,” he said.
ICE said that in fiscal year 2022, it arrested 46,396 illegal immigrants with criminal histories, including 8,164 sex crimes and sexual assaults.
Martha’s Vineyard was at the center of immigration controversy last year when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis bused dozens of immigrants to the liberal vacation destination. However, there appears to be no connection between those trips and Cardoso Ferreira, who likely arrived years earlier.
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The arrest comes at a time when the United States is still in the midst of a historic crisis on the southern border. There were more than 249,000 migrant encounters in October after a historic high of 2.4 million in FY23. Cities declared they were overwhelmed, with Massachusetts officials also calling for more federal aid as they confront what they say is a “federal problem.”
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas recently confirmed that there were more than 600,000 escapes in FY23, and Fox News reported that there have been more than 1,000 escapes per day since the new fiscal year began in October.
