Recent arrests of illegal immigrants on the Massachusetts islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard have attracted national attention.
Over the past month, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has made at least six arrests on the island as part of a larger operation to detain suspected illegal immigrants accused of particularly egregious crimes in the popular tourist beach town. Biden And the Obama family.
“I think a lot of people are concerned about violent illegal immigration. … The biggest problem is not knowing the history of illegal immigrants. Legal immigrants will talk about that, too,” Nantucket Republican Party Chair Toby Brown told Fox News Digital.
Brown noted that most immigrants on the beautiful island off the coast of Cape Cod, including those who are here illegally, are good, active members of the community, but residents still worry about those who may be fleeing violent pasts in their home countries.
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President Biden, First Lady Jill Biden and the president's daughter Ashley Biden leave Nantucket Bookworks after a luncheon on November 25, 2022 in Nantucket, Massachusetts. (Mandel Gunn/AFP via Getty Images)
“It feels like things are a little worse here on Nantucket because it's such a small island,” he said, but also noted there are multiple reasons why crime and poverty appear to be increasing on the island in recent years.
These do not appear to be issues that concern the island's super-rich residents, he said.
“I think the super-rich in the summer probably don't see the same things as people who live locally.”
“Again, they're living on a big piece of land. And unfortunately on Nantucket, most of the mainstream media is trying to make people think that this place is still like Disneyland and that there's nothing wrong with the island.”
Oak Bluffs is known for its charming gingerbread houses, its tiny harbor, and, like the entire island of Martha's Vineyard, its sky-high real estate and living costs. (Kelly J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)
Aug. 23 arrests on Martha's Vineyard
On September 3, ICE Boston Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) announced the arrest of 24-year-old Brazilian illegal immigrant Wally Neto in late August on Martha's Vineyard. Neto, who illegally entered the United States in 2018 at the Texas-Mexico border in Paso del Norte, faces five charges of alleged rape of a minor in Massachusetts.
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“Wally Neto is accused of repeatedly assaulting children in Massachusetts and poses a serious threat to the safety of our communities,” ERO Boston Director Todd M. Lyons said in a statement. “We appreciate the cooperation of the Dukes County Sheriff's Office, who prioritized public safety and safely delivered Neto to ERO. Too often, local authorities do not honor immigration detention orders, releasing dangerous criminals back into our communities to commit new crimes. ERO Boston will continue to apprehend and remove the most egregious criminal aliens from New England.”
On September 3, the ICE Boston Enforcement and Deportation Office announced that it had arrested 24-year-old Brazilian illegal immigrant, Wally Neto, on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, in late August. (ICE – ERO Boston)
ERO Boston noted that it had requested three ICE detention orders for Neto. After the first detention order was issued, Neto was sentenced to prison but released early only to commit additional crimes against children just months later.
“Too often, local authorities refuse to honour immigration detention orders, releasing dangerous criminals back into society to offend again.”
September 10th: Arrests on Nantucket Island
On September 16, ERO Boston announced that 28-year-old Salvadoran illegal immigrant Brian Daniel Aldana Arevalo was arrested on September 10. Aldana Arevalo is charged with one count of rape of a child 10 years younger than him and two counts of lewd acts with a child under the age of 14. It is unclear when and where Aldana Arevalo entered the United States.
On September 16, ERO Boston announced that 28-year-old Salvadoran illegal immigrant Brian Daniel Aldana Arevalo was arrested on September 10. He is charged with one count of rape of a child 10 years younger than him and two counts of indecent acts and assault of a child under the age of 14. (ICE – ERO Boston)
“Brian Daniel Aldana Arevalo has been accused of abhorrent and disturbing crimes against Nantucket children,” Lyons said at the time. “He poses a grave danger to children in our Massachusetts communities. ERO Boston will not tolerate such threats against the most vulnerable of our residents.”
ERO Boston officers also arrested Elmer Sola, a Salvadoran national, on Sept. 10, the agency announced Friday. Sola has been charged with 11 counts of sex crimes against a child, specifically three counts of aggravated rape of a child and eight counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of 14.
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Elmer Sola has been charged with 11 counts of sexual offenses against a child, specifically three counts of rape of a child and eight counts of indecent assault of a child under the age of 14. (ICE – ERO Boston)
“Elmer Sola allegedly entered the United States illegally and then entered our Nantucket community where he committed horrific and despicable crimes against children,” Lyons said. “ERO Boston officers will not tolerate such threats against the children of our New England neighborhoods.”
It is unclear exactly when and where Sora entered the U.S.
September 11th Arrests on Nantucket Island
On September 17, ERO officials announced the September 11 arrest of Gian do Amaral Belafronte, an illegal immigrant from Brazil who is charged with indecent assault and battery on a person over the age of 14.
Bellafronte is accused of violating the conditions of his entry into the United States legally in 2018. Authorities say he left the U.S. in 2021 and returned illegally at an unknown time.
On September 17, ERO authorities announced that they had arrested Gian do Amaral Belafronte, an illegal immigrant from Brazil, on September 11. (ice)
“Gian de Amaral Bellafronte is accused of illegally entering the United States and reaching the island of Nantucket, where he sexually assaulted a resident,” Lyons said in a statement. “We have consistently kept our promise to prioritize the safety of our citizens and to apprehend and deport egregious criminal aliens. This is not an empty statement, it is a sincere promise to the residents of our New England communities.”
More arrests are expected to be announced this week.
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Belafonte is charged with indecent assault and battery on a person over the age of 14. (ICE – ERO Boston)
The recent ICE investigations on the islands resemble similar past investigations, which led to ICE arresting three people in 2012 and four in 2017, according to the Nantucket Current.
Massachusetts is home to a number of so-called “sanctuary cities” where local law enforcement officials do not always cooperate with federal detention requests.
A June report from the Center for Immigration Studies estimated the number of “illegal and inadmissible” immigrants living in Massachusetts to be around 355,000, with an estimated 50,000 new arrivals since 2021. It also reported that 10,000 of the immigrants are minors and 8,500 are unaccompanied.
Two years ago, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis sent two planes full of illegal immigrants to Nantucket as part of a “state relocation program to transport illegal immigrants to sanctuary areas,” the governor's spokeswoman, Taryn Fenske, told Fox News Digital at the time.
“States like Massachusetts, New York and California have encouraged illegal immigration by designating themselves 'sanctuary states' and by supporting the Biden administration's open border policies, they will be better able to care for these people they invite into our country,” she said.
