An illegal immigrant with ties to a violent Brazilian gang flashed a sinister smile while being arrested during an immigration enforcement operation in Massachusetts, earlier this month.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shared an image of the arrest of Caio Vitor Guimaraes-Silva, 21, an illegally present Brazilian national and validated gang member convicted of assault and battery against a Massachusetts resident.
Officials said Guimaraes-Silva was nabbed during a Feb. 3 immigration enforcement operation in Bellingham.
“Caio Vitor Guimaraes-Silva has not only shown a blatant disregard for U.S. immigration laws, but he also presented a significant danger to the residents of Massachusetts,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde said in a statement.
“As a documented member of a violent street gang and an alien convicted of a violent crime, we could no longer abide Mr. Guimaraes’ presence in our community. ICE Boston will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing illegal alien offenders from our New England neighborhoods.”
Officials said Guimaraes-Silva lawfully entered the U.S. back on September 3, 2017, and later violated the terms of his lawful admission.
ICE then launched an immigration detainer against Guimaraes-Silva with the Middlesex County House of Corrections on Feb. 16, 2024, following his arrest by local authorities.
A district court found Guimaraes-Silva guilty of two counts of assault and battery. The court then sentenced Guimaraes to one year in prison but suspended all but 90 days of time served.
Officials said the court then released Guimaraes-Silva from state custody, ignoring the ICE immigration detainer.
Information obtained by Fox News Digital, shows that between midnight Jan. 21 and 9 a.m. Jan 22, a 33-hour period, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested more than 460 illegal immigrants that include criminal histories of sexual assault, robbery, burglary, aggravated assault, drugs and weapons offenses, resisting arrest and domestic violence.
The arrests took place across the U.S., including Illinois, Utah, California, Minnesota, New York, Florida and Maryland.
The arrests come as the Trump administration is moving rapidly to fulfill its promise to launch a historic mass deportation operation, which it has said will focus primarily – but not exclusively – on public safety threats.
