An El Salvadoran illegal immigrant wanted for allegedly sexually abusing a child has been arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Massachusettsafter a local sheriff’s office ignored an inmate’s decision to detain him.
ICE said its Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston arrested 55-year-old Hugo Israel Ruiz on December 17 on charges of sexual assault and battery on a child under 14, adding that he remains in custody pending immigration and criminal proceedings.
Revere police arrested Ruiz on August 22 and his hearing was held in Chelsea District Court.
The court allowed Ruiz to be released from the Nashua Street jail on bail despite a fine immigration prisoner requesting that ICE be notified of his release.
ICE arrested Hugo Israel Ruiz, and illegal immigrant wanted on charges of sexual assault and battery on a child under 14, on December 17, 2024, after a court in Suffolk County, Massachusetts failed to honor ICE’s detainee and grant him bail released. (ICE)
But the sheriff’s office that runs the jail ignored the inmate and released Ruiz to the public without notifying ICE.
“ERO Boston will take every opportunity to identify, locate and capture criminal noncitizens accused of a crime and hold them in custody until their criminal and immigration proceedings are resolved,” said Patricia H. Hyde, acting field office director from ERO Boston. “Not only is this our mission, it is the lawful thing to do.”
In October 2019, the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department terminated its contract with ICE and instead opted 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 to helping local women 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, including domestic violence, sexual exploitation and substance abuse, to name a few.”
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An exterior view of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) headquarters is seen on July 6, 2018 in Washington, DC. US (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
The statement, which appears on his campaign website, notes that the contract with ICE to house federal immigration detainees was first signed in 2003. ICE ERO Boston’s then-acting director said the agency was disappointed by the decision. the sheriff after sharing a “mutually beneficial agreement.” partnership of more than ten years.
The latest arrest comes as Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has said her state police will “absolutely not” cooperate with the incoming Trump administration’s expected mass deportation effort, warning that she will use “every tool in the toolbox” to “protect” blue state residents.
President-elect Trump has promised to launch the “largest domestic deportation operation in American history” to deport millions of illegal immigrants. An estimated 50,000 migrants have arrived in the state since 2021, according to a report by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS).
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Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey held a morning press conference announcing major measures regarding the state’s emergency shelter system. (Photo by Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) (Photo by Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
“I think it’s important that we all recognize that there’s going to be a lot of pressure on states and state officials. I can assure you that we will work hard to deliver on the results,” Healey said after President-elect Trump’s loud vote. election victory last month.
Last year, Healey stated a state of emergency in the state as a result of the surge and called for federal action. She also acknowledged that state policies attract migrants.
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“Many of these families are migrants to Massachusetts, drawn here because we have been and proud to be a beacon for those in need,” she wrote in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
