Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently announced the arrest of a law-breaking migrant in Massachusetts who had been in the U.S. illegally for nearly two years.
Julio Esteban Batista-Castillo, 24, was charged with kidnapping, malicious destruction of property, breaking and entering and home invasion, in addition to several assault and battery charges. He was arrested in Boston by ICE agents on Nov. 18.
According to an ICE press release published on Tuesday, the suspect illegally entered the United States in January 2023.
In a statement, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia Hyde said that Batista-Castillo was taken into ICE custody after an immigration detainer was not honored by the Roxbury District Court. The court had arraigned him before his ICE arrest.
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An exterior view of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency headquarters is seen July 6, 2018 in Washington, DC. U.S. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
“Batista has been accused of very serious crimes, including assault and battery involving strangulation and a firearm,” Hyde said. “This is not someone you want to release into the community.”
Hyde added that the court put the Boston community at risk by not retaining him.
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A law enforcement officer walks past ICE logo ahead of a press conference on Thursday, May 11, 2017, at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters in Washington, DC.. (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
“ERO Boston lodged an immigration detainer against him with the Roxbury District Court — a simple request for law enforcement officers to hold him in custody for a short time so our officers could arrest him in a safe, controlled setting,” she added. “Unfortunately, the detainer was not honored, putting everyone in the community and our officers at risk.”
Batista-Castillo is one of countless violent migrants that have been apprehended by ICE Boston this year. Belardis Tapia Gonzalez, an MS-13 gang member accused of second-degree child molestation, was arrested by ICE officials in Lynn, Massachusetts on Nov. 18.
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DHS seal next to the letters ICE, which stands for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via Getty Images)
Another suspected child predator, Mateo Hincapie Cardona, was arrested by ICE officials in October in Boston. He was booked on charges of enticing a child under 16, distribution of obscene matter, and lascivious posing and exhibiting a child in the nude.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
Andrea Margolis is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. Readers can send story tips to andrea.margolis@fox.com.
