Above, ICE ERO Boston arrests Haitian gang member with numerous convictions--Wisteguens Jean Quely Charles. He had been previously held and released by the Norfolk County Sheriff
STATEMENT OF THE NORFOLK COUNTY SHERIFF:
The Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office is responsible for holding individuals remanded to our care and custody by the courts until that person makes bail, or has served their sentence.
ICE is responsible for immigration enforcement.
The Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office works cooperatively with ICE.
As is our general practice, if the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office is made aware of an ICE detainer we inform ICE of when that person will be released from our custody.
According to our records, ICE was notified about the impending release of Wisteguens Jean Quely Charles. It was then incumbent on ICE to be there and fulfill its role.
According to our records ICE indicated they were unable to make a pickup. We cannot violate a person’s due process by holding them beyond their legally stipulated term of confinement. We comply fully, within our authority.
We remain willing to communicate with ICE and we appreciate the work of all law enforcement to keep our communities safe.
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BELOW, THE STATEMENT FROM ERO BOSTON
BOSTON – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston apprehended an illegally present 25-year-old Haitian national who has 17 criminal convictions in Massachusetts. ICE officers from ERO Boston arrested Wisteguens Jean Quely Charles, a member of a violent Haitian street gang, in Boston Jan. 22. Charles’ convictions include multiple drug, weapons, and assault and battery crimes.
“Mr. Charles is illegally present the United States and has consistently broken our laws causing significant harm to the residents of Massachusetts,” said acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde. “ERO Boston will not tolerate the repeated victimization of our New England neighborhoods. We will continue our mission to apprehend such illegal alien offenders and remove them from our communities.”
Charles entered the U.S. lawfully July 13, 2013 in Miami, Florida; however, he violated the terms of his lawful admission.
Charles has been arrested, charged, and convicted for 17 crimes between Aug. 16, 2022, and Aug. 14, 2024, including both possession of and possession to distribute controlled substances, distribution of controlled substances, trespassing, carrying dangerous weapon to wit brass knuckles, possession of a firearm without a permit and possession of ammunition without a permit, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery, and resisting arrest.
ICE ERO encountered Charles April 15, 2023, following one of these arrests. ERO Boston issued an immigration detainer against Charles with the Norfolk House of Correction in Massachusetts. However, the correctional facility released Charles Oct. 20, 2023, without honoring the immigration detainer.
Officers with ICE ERO Boston arrested Charles Jan. 22, in Boston and issued him a Notice to Appear before a DOJ immigration judge, and he remains in ICE custody.
As one of ICE’s three operational directorates, ERO is the principal federal law enforcement authority in charge of domestic immigration enforcement. ERO’s mission is to protect the homeland through the arrest and removal of those who undermine the safety of U.S. communities and the integrity of U.S. immigration laws, and its primary areas of focus are interior enforcement operations, management of the agency’s detained and non-detained populations, and repatriation of noncitizens who have received final orders of removal. ERO’s workforce consists of more than 7,700 law enforcement and non-law enforcement support personnel across 25 domestic field offices and 208 locations nationwide, 30 overseas postings, and multiple temporary duty travel assignments along the border.
Members of the public with information regarding child sex offenders can report crimes or suspicious activity by dialing the ICE Tip Line at 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.
Learn more about ERO Boston’s mission to increase public safety in our New England communities on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @EROBoston.
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AND, LEGISLATION FILED BY REP MIKE SOTER OF BELLINGHAM
Bill Filed in MA Legislature to Empower Local and State Law Enforcement to Hold Dangerous Non-Citizens for ICE Intervention
Two MA Sheriff’s Co-Sponsor Public Safety Legislation Aimed to Protect Massachusetts Citizens
[Boston] – As the new bi-annual legislative session begins for Massachusetts Lawmakers, State Representatives Michael J. Soter (R-Bellingham) and Kenneth P. Sweezey (R-Pembroke) are advocating for measures to restore power to local and state law enforcement agencies. This legislation aims to empower these agencies to take necessary actions to keep Massachusetts residents safe. Worcester County Sheriff Lew Evangelidis and Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph McDonald Jr. have expressed their support for the proposed legislation, which calls for a 36-hour buffer for their departments and other law enforcement agencies to hold dangerous non-citizens with ICE detainers.
Bill HD.4221, An Act to promote and protect safety in the Commonwealth, seeks to enhance cooperation among state court officers, local or state law enforcement, and the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE). Specifically, the bill addresses a loophole in state public safety laws that arose from the 2017 Lunn v. Commonwealth ruling. This loophole prevents court officers and law enforcement officials from holding dangerous illegal non-citizens with ICE detainers beyond the time that the individual would otherwise be entitled to be released from state custody, allowing these individuals to walk free after committing significant crimes in certain situations.
"It’s essential that we equip our law enforcement with the resources, tools, and support they need to keep our communities safe,” stated Representative Soter. “Both sides of the aisle are united in the belief that undocumented immigrants who come here to commit crimes should be returned to their home countries. The state and local authorities must be able to detain these criminals and give ICE the opportunity to take action."
“The immigration issue in Massachusetts has gotten completely out of control,” commented Representative Sweezey. “This piece of legislation is a very simple, common-sense first step in rectifying part of the issue. I am always proud to assist our law enforcement partners and am pleased to present this legislation with support from Sheriff Evangelidis and Sheriff McDonald. I look forward to working on gaining additional support and pushing this bill across the finish line into law making our communities safer in the process.”
“This legislation is a commonsense approach to closing a loophole in the current law,” explained Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph McDonald Jr. “The public expects law enforcement agencies to be communicating and assuring individuals are not released back to our community if wanted by another jurisdiction. We are simply asking for legal authority to do just that.”
As part of its mission to identify and arrest removable noncitizens, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) lodges immigration detainers against noncitizens who have been arrested for criminal activity and taken into custody by state or local law enforcement. An immigration detainer is a request from ICE to state or local law enforcement agencies to notify ICE as early as possible before a removable noncitizen is released from their custody. Detainers request that state or local law enforcement agencies maintain custody of the noncitizen for a period not to exceed 48 hours beyond the time the individual would otherwise be released, allowing ERO to assume custody for removal purposes in accordance with federal law.
In 2017, ICE detainers were challenged in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC). As a result, the SJC deferred to the legislature to promulgate guidelines for local and state law enforcement agencies to follow when complying with immigration detainers.
After a failed attempt by the Baker administration to pass legislation addressing the ruling, the topic has fallen dormant.
“With the Massachusetts SJC ruling almost 8 years ago that the legislature should create guidelines, it is beyond time for us to enact laws that allow local and state agencies to detain those here illegally and charged with additional crimes,” State Sen. Peter Durant (R-Spencer), said. “These new laws will improve public safety by allowing time for ICE to remove people who are increasingly victimizing others, including children, while illegally in the United States.”
In October, Worcester County Sheriff Lew Evangelidis issued a press release highlighting an increase in crimes committed by illegal non-citizens, a metric measured by the number of detainers his department has received from ICE since 2021.
“The number of individuals with ICE detainers coming through our facility has more than doubled since 2021,” commented Evangelidis. “These individuals have committed serious crimes including murder, rape, drug trafficking, and more. This bill will ensure that my staff can utilize all available tools to protect the safety of Massachusetts residents. The legislation drafted by Representatives Soter and Sweezey will accomplish this and prevent ICE from expending unnecessary resources in re-arresting dangerous non-citizens”
According to ICE, Detainers are critical public safety tools because they focus enforcement resources on removable noncitizens who are already in custody for criminal activity. Detainers increase the safety of all parties involved, ERO personnel, law enforcement officials, the removable noncitizens, and the public, by allowing an arrest to be made in a secure and controlled custodial setting as opposed to at-large within the community.
Since detainers result in the direct transfer of a noncitizen from state or local custody to ERO custody, they also minimize the potential that an individual will re-offend. Additionally, detainers conserve scarce government resources by allowing ERO to take criminal noncitizens into custody directly rather than expending resources locating these individuals at large.
Representatives Soter and Sweezey encourage Massachusetts residents to contact their state representatives and senators to advocate for the passage of this bill. Residents can find their legislator’s contact information by visiting www.MALegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator.