An El Salvadoran illegal immigrant wanted for allegedly sexually assaulting a child has been arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Massachusetts, after a local sheriff's office ignored a detainer to hold him.
ICE said its Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston arrested 55-year-old Hugo Israel Ruiz on Dec. 17 on felony charges of indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of 14, adding that he remains in custody pending immigration and criminal proceedings.
The Revere Police Department arrested Ruiz on Aug. 22, and his hearing was held at the Chelsea District Court.
The court allowed Ruiz to be released from the Nashua Street Jail on bail, despite an immigration detainer requesting ICE be notified of his release.
But the sheriff's office that operates the jail ignored the detainer, releasing Ruiz into the public without notifying ICE.
"ERO Boston will take every opportunity to identify, locate and take into custody criminal noncitizens facing felony charges and keep them in custody until their criminal and immigration proceedings are resolved," ERO Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde said. "Not only is this our mission, it is also the lawful thing to do."
In October 2019, the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department terminated its contract with ICE, and instead chose to shift resources due to the increasing population of women entering the Suffolk County House of Correction, according to a statement from Sheriff Steve Thompkins at the time.
"We are ending our contract with ICE to reallocate our resources towards helping local women to address long-standing issues that have contributed to their involvement in the criminal justice system," Tompkins said in the statement. "Our gender-specific programming, which is among the best in the country, allows us to address these issues, which include domestic violence, sexual exploitation and substance use disorders, to name a few."
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The statement, which appears on his campaign website, noted that the contract with ICE to house federal immigration detainees was first signed in 2003. The then acting director of ICE ERO Boston said the agency was disappointed by the sheriff’s decision after sharing a "mutually beneficial" partnership for over a decade.
The latest arrest comes as Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has said that her state police will "absolutely not" be cooperating with the expected mass deportation effort by the incoming Trump administration, warning that she will use "every tool in the toolbox" to "protect" residents in the blue state.
President-elect Trump has pledged to launch the "largest domestic deportation operation in American history" to deport millions of illegal immigrants. One report by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) estimated 50,000 migrants have arrived in the state since 2021.
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"I do think it is important that we all recognize that there is going to be a lot of pressure on states and state officials. I can assure you we're going to work hard to deliver," Healey said following President-elect Trump’s resounding election win last month.
Last year, Healey declared a state of emergency in the state due to the surge and called for federal action. She also acknowledged that the state’s policies may be a draw for migrants.
"Many of these families are migrants to Massachusetts, drawn here because we are and proudly have been a beacon to those in need," she wrote in a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
