EDGARTOWN, MA— The apprehension of a 29-year-old illegal alien from Brazil in Edgartown, MA on charges of aggravated rape of a child by force, possession of child pornography, and dissemination of obscene material has been presented by the Trump Administration as a prime example of “Operation Patriot,” an effort which culminated in the deportation of approximately 1,500 illegal immigrants over Memorial Day weekend.
The arrest has been shown in stark relief compared to efforts by the Democrat-led government of Massachusetts to stymie immigration enforcement, according to The Rogue Review’s Catherine Salgado.
“Massachusetts Democrats have been desperately trying to protect illegal alien criminals from federal authorities, disrupting arrests, assaulting officers, and ordering local law enforcement to refuse cooperation,” Salgado wrote for PJ Media. “Despite all these obstacles, ICE is doing its job well — and one arrestee is a serial child sex criminal.”
Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healey has openly defied the Trump Administration’s efforts to ramp up immigration enforcement, as reported by Law Enforcement Today in April.
“This was a massive, multiagency immigration enforcement operation aimed at keeping our region safe from habitual lawbreakers who have flouted our country’s immigration laws and, in many cases, committed violent crimes that have endangered our families, friends, and neighbors for far too long,” FBI Boston acting Special Agent in Charge Kimberly Milka said per USCBP. “Together, with our partners, we have identified and removed hundreds of illegal alien offenders from the Commonwealth, including murderers, gang members, child predators, and a possible associate of a suspected terrorist, and our work is not done.”
The White House touted the arrest of the Brazilian assailant in a post to X, also noting his prior arrests for Assault, Battery, and Kidnapping.
“An illegally present 29-year-old Brazilian national charged in Edgartown with aggravated rape of a child by force, possession of child pornography and, dissemination of obscene material,” ICE revealed in a press release. “He has an additional arrest in Edgartown for assault and battery (family) and kidnapping.”
Jennifer De La O, Director of field operations for U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Boston, said in a statement, “Over the past month, CBP has worked diligently alongside our federal law enforcement partners to apprehend criminal aliens illegally present in our country. CBP is unwavering in our commitment to protect the American people and make our country safer. We will continue to ensure that all criminal aliens that violate our laws are taken into custody and removed.”
“The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a safer place today thanks to the hard work and determination of the men and women of ICE and our federal partners. Working together, we were able to arrest almost 1,500 illegal aliens throughout the Commonwealth, most of whom had significant criminality in the United States or abroad,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde told reporters.
“Make no mistake: Every person that we arrested was breaking our immigration laws, but most of these individuals had significant criminality,” Director Hyde further revealed. “They are criminal offenders who victimized innocent people and traumatized entire communities — murderers, rapists, drug traffickers, child sex predators, and members of violent transnational criminal gangs. Some were convicted of violent crimes in the United States, and others were wanted for criminality in their native countries. All made the mistake of attempting to subvert justice by hiding out in Massachusetts.”
