ICE arrests Salvadoran national charged with raping Massachusetts resident

BOSTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement apprehended an illegally present Salvadoran national charged with raping a Massachusetts resident when officers arrested Jose Garcia-Salmeron, 34, in Boston Jan. 22.

“Jose Garcia-Salmeron is charged with victimizing one of our Massachusetts residents and represents a significant threat to the safety of Massachusetts neighborhoods,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde. “We will not tolerate such threats to our neighbors. ERO Boston will continue to prioritize public safety by targeting, arresting, and removing any illegally present individuals who present such a threat to our New England communities.”

U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested Garcia July 16, 2007, after he illegally entered the United States and issued him a notice to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge. They then transferred Garcia to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which released him from custody Aug. 31, 2007.

An immigration judge ordered Garcia removed from the United States to El Salvador on Nov. 11, 2007.

ERO Boston encountered Garcia July 2, 2024, following his arrest by the Revere Police Department in Massachusetts, and issued an immigration detainer against him with the Nashua Street Jail in Boston.

The Chelsea District Court arraigned Garcia July 3, 2024, on a charge of rape, which was indicted to Suffolk Superior Court, Boston.

The Chelsea District Court in Massachusetts, ignored ERO Boston’s immigration detainer and released Garcia from custody July 26, 2024.

Garcia remains in ERO custody.