ICE Nabs Illegal Migrant Accused of Heinous Crime and Released by Massachusetts Sheriff’s Office

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.

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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.

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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.

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