(Texas Scorecard) – An illegal alien originally from Guatemala has been arrested in Lynn, Massachusetts by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in Boston.
Darvin Joel Mendez-Lopez, 27, has been charged with both assaulting a Massachusetts resident and illegally re-entering the country after having been removed before.
“Our officers cannot allow such individuals to threaten our communities. ERO Boston remains dedicated to our mission of prioritizing public safety by apprehending and removing egregious noncitizen offenders from out New England neighborhoods,” ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons stated.
Mendez-Lopez has a history of entering the country and encountering U.S. Border Patrol.
For example, between March 4 and March 27 of 2015, Mendez-Lopez was caught twice by Border Patrol after illegally entering the U.S. at McAllen, Texas. On both occasions, he was deported back to Guatemala just days after he was apprehended.
In May of 2020, he was arraigned by the Lynn District Court for assault and battery. However, an immigration detainer issued by ERO Boston was disregarded and Mendez-Lopez was released.
The foreign national then fled from New York City to Mexico City and eventually made it back to Guatemala after a warrant was issued for illegal re-entry.
In 2021, Border Patrol apprehended Mendez-Lopez three different times in Texas between May 17 and June 19. Each time he was caught, he left the country as a voluntary return. Yet, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he illegally entered the United States again at an unknown date.
He was arrested in Lynn, Massachusetts just a few weeks ago and remains in custody.
Violent criminals from Guatemala continue to cross into Texas at the southwest land border—many of whom leave Texas and commit other crimes in various states. One man accused of raping a resident in Maryland was arrested in Baltimore after originally crossing into the country at El Paso in 2019 as an accompanied minor.
Henry Argueta-Tobar was released on an order of recognizance while his case was being processed. Yet, he was arrested again on December 22, 2023 and charged with second-degree rape. In February 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice ordered that Argueta-Tobar be deported. He remains in custody according to the most recent information.
This comes as the state continues its efforts to ramp up border security efforts.
“Panel installation on the Texas border wall continues in Starr County,” Gov. Greg Abbott posted Monday on X. “Texas won’t back down from the fight to keep America safe from the border crisis Joe Biden and Kamala Harris created.”
He continued, “We will add even MORE miles of border wall.”