Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, playground for the rich and famous, hit by immigrant crime

Recent arrests of illegal immigrants on the islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts have captured the nation’s attention.

Over the past month, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has made at least six arrests on the islands as part of a larger operation to detain suspected illegal immigrants accused of particularly egregious crimes in the beach towns where the Biden and Obama families to prefer.

“I think a lot of people are concerned about the violent illegal population. … The most important thing, of course, is that you don’t know anyone’s history if they’re here illegally. The legal immigrants will even talk about that,” said Toby Brown, chairman of the Nantucket GOP, told Fox News Digital.

Brown, who noted that most immigrants on the idyllic island off the coast of Cape Cod are good and active members of the community, including those who are there illegally. But residents still worry about those who may be fleeing a violent past in their home country.

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President Biden, first lady Jill Biden and the president’s daughter Ashley Biden leave Nantucket Bookworks after lunch in Nantucket, Massachusetts, on November 25, 2022. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

“It’s such a small island that I find that things have gotten a little bit worse here on Nantucket,” he said, although he also noted that there are several reasons why crime and poverty on the island have seemed to increase in recent years. have increased.

These are problems from which the ultra-rich islanders appear to have been freed, he said.

“I think the ultra-rich summer people probably don’t see the same thing as someone who lives here locally.”

—Toby Brown

“Again, they’re on large estates. And unfortunately, for the most part, the mainstream press on Nantucket wants people to think that this place is still kind of like Disneyland and that we don’t have any problems on the island.”

Oak Bluffs is known for its charming gingerbread houses, a small harbor and, like all of Martha’s Vineyard, extremely high real estate and living costs. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)

August 23 arrest on Martha’s Vineyard

On September 3, ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston announced that it had arrested 24-year-old Brazilian illegal immigrant Warley Neto on Martha’s Vineyard in late August. Neto, who illegally entered the United States through the Paso Del Norte border area of ​​Texas and Mexico in 2018, faces five charges of raping a minor from Massachusetts.

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“Warley Neto allegedly repeatedly assaulted a Massachusetts child and poses a significant threat to the safety of our neighborhoods,” Todd M. Lyons, director of the ERO Boston Field Office, said in a statement at the time. “We are grateful for the cooperation of the Dukes County Sheriff’s Office in prioritizing public safety and allowing Neto’s safe transfer of custody to the ERO. Too often, local jurisdictions refuse to honor immigration detainees and release dangerous offenders into the community to reoffend. ERO Boston will do that. continue to arrest and remove the most egregious non-citizen offenders from New England.”

On September 3, ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston announced that it had arrested 24-year-old Brazilian illegal immigrant Warley Neto on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, in late August. (ICE – ERO Boston)

ERO Boston noted that it had requested ICE detainees for Neto three times. After releasing the first prisoner, Neto was sentenced to prison but released early, and just months later he was alleged to have committed further crimes against a child.

“Too often, local jurisdictions refuse to honor immigration detentions and release dangerous offenders into the community to reoffend.”

— Todd M. Lyons, director of ERO Boston field office

September 10 arrests on Nantucket

On September 16, ERO Boston announced the September 10 arrest of 28-year-old Salvadoran illegal immigrant Bryan Daniel Aldana-Arevalo, who is charged with one count of rape of a child with a 10-year age difference and two counts of rape. sexual assault and abuse of a child under 14 years of age. It is unclear when and where Aldana-Arevalo entered the United States.

On September 16, ERO Boston announced the September 10 arrest of 28-year-old Salvadoran illegal immigrant Bryan Daniel Aldana-Arevalo, who is charged with one count of rape of a child with a 10-year age difference and two counts of rape. sexual assault and abuse of a child under 14 years of age. (ICE – ERO Boston)

“Bryan Daniel Aldana-Arevalo is accused of a number of detestable and disturbing crimes against a Nantucket child,” Lyons said at the time. “He represents a significant danger to the children of our Massachusetts communities. ERO Boston will not tolerate such a threat to the most vulnerable of our population.”

ERO Boston officials also arrested Salvadoran national Elmer Sola on September 10, the agency announced Friday. Sola is charged with 11 counts of sex crimes against a child; specifically, three counts of aggravated rape of a child and eight counts of sexual assault and battery on a child under 14 years of age.

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Elmer Sola is charged with eleven counts of sex crimes against a child; specifically, three counts of aggravated rape of a child and eight counts of sexual assault and battery on a child under 14 years of age. (ICE – ERO Boston)

“Elmer Sola unlawfully entered the United States and then made his way to our Nantucket community before allegedly committing a number of heinous and despicable crimes against a child,” Lyons said. “ERO Boston officers will not tolerate such a threat to the children of our New England neighborhoods.”

It is unclear exactly when and where Sola entered the United States.

September 11 arrest on Nantucket

On September 17, ERO officials announced the September 11 arrest of Gean Do Amaral Belafronte, an illegal immigrant from Brazil charged with sexual assault and battery on a person 14 years of age or older.

Belafronte was legally admitted to the United States in 2018, but is said to have violated the terms of his admission. He then left the United States in 2021 and returned illegally at an unknown time, officials said.

On September 17, ERO officials announced the September 11 arrest of Gean Do Amaral Belafronte, an illegal immigrant from Brazil. (ICE)

“Gean Do Amaral Belafronte unlawfully entered the United States, traveled to Nantucket and allegedly sexually assaulted one of our residents,” Lyons said in a statement. “We have been consistent in our commitment to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing egregious non-citizen offenders. This is not an empty phrase; it is a sincere promise to the residents of our New England communities.”

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Belafonte is charged with sexual assault and battery on a person 14 years or older. (ICE – ERO Boston)

ERO Boston announced Tuesday a second arrest that occurred on September 11. Felix Alberto Perez-Gomez, a 41-year-old illegal immigrant from Guatemala, was charged with a sex crime against a Nantucket resident. He was charged on August 19 with assault and battery on a person 14 years or older and arrested on September 11.

“Felix Alberto Perez-Gomez was previously removed from the United States following convictions for reckless driving and reckless endangerment,” Lyons said. “He then unlawfully entered the country and made his way to our Nantucket community to apparently commit a sex crime against a resident here. Perez represents a threat to our New England residents that we cannot tolerate.”

Gomez was previously arrested in 2011 for reckless driving and recklessly endangering another person. He was sentenced to a year of probation and the Justice Department ordered his removal from the United States back to Guatemala. It is unclear when and where Gomez reentered the United States.

Felix Alberto Perez-Gomez, a 41-year-old illegal immigrant from Guatemala, was charged with a sex crime against a Nantucket resident. (ICE – ERO Boston)

September 12 arrest

ERO Boston announced Thursday the September 12 arrest of 30-year-old Angel Gabriel Deras-Mejia, a Salvadoran illegal immigrant and documented member of MS-13.

“Angel Gabriel Deras-Mejia unlawfully entered the United States and then proceeded to Massachusetts to apparently commit acts of violence,” Lyons said. “To make matters worse, Deras-Mejia is a documented member of a notorious transnational criminal organization and poses a significant threat to the people of Nantucket.”

ERO Boston announced Thursday the September 12 arrest of 30-year-old Angel Gabriel Deras-Mejia, a Salvadoran illegal immigrant and documented member of MS-13. (ICE ERO-Boston)

The recent ICE operations on the islands are similar to similar previous stings. According to the Nantucket Current, the agency arrested three people in 2012 and four in 2017 during similar operations.

Massachusetts has a number of cities that qualify as so-called “sanctuary cities,” where local law enforcement officers do not always cooperate with federal authorities’ arrest requests.

A June report from the Center for Immigration Studies estimated that the number of “illegal and inadmissible” migrants living in Massachusetts is about 355,000, with 50,000 new arrivals since 2021. It also reported that 10,000 migrants were minors, while 8,500 were unaccompanied were migrants.

Two years ago, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis sent two planes of illegal immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard as part of “the state’s relocation program to transport illegal immigrants to sanctuary destinations,” the governor’s communications director, Taryn Fenske, said. at the time to Fox News Digital. .

“States like Massachusetts, New York and California will better facilitate care for these individuals they have invited into our country by encouraging illegal immigration through their designation as ‘sanctuary states’ and support for the Biden administration’s open border policies,” said them.