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Officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston arrested Christian Maximo Castaneda Negrete, 46, on Dec. 3, after the Hartford Police Department released him on bond for pending sexual assault charges.

“Castaneda, who’s unlawfully present in the United States, was convicted of three felonies in New Britain in 2004 and another felony in Bristol in 2011,” said ERO Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde. “ICE previously removed him to Peru, but he unlawfully returned to the United States. Castaneda has shown a flagrant disregard for the laws of the United States and for the wellbeing of others, and he's now accused of second-degree sexual assault.”

Castaneda’s prior convictions include violation of a protective order, first-degree burglary and unlawful restraint. The Connecticut Superior Court in New Britain sentenced him to concurrently serve five years in prison and three years of probation. The Connecticut Superior Court in Bristol convicted him of violating a restraining order in 2011.

ERO Miami removed him to Peru in March 2012.

At some point after his removal, he unlawfully reentered the United States.

The Hartford Police Department arrested Castaneda for an alleged sexual assault Nov. 20. Before ERO Boston could lodge an immigration detainer against him, Hartford police released him on bond. ERO officers arrested him Dec. 3 on a public street in Hartford. He’s currently in ERO custody awaiting immigration proceedings. His sexual assault charge is pending.

As part of its mission to identify and arrest removable noncitizens, ERO lodges immigration detainers against noncitizens who have been arrested for criminal activity and taken into custody by state or local law enforcement. An immigration detainer is a request from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to state or local law enforcement agencies to notify ICE as early as possible before a removable noncitizen is released from their custody. Detainers request that state or local law enforcement agencies maintain custody of the noncitizen for a period not to exceed 48 hours beyond the time the individual would otherwise be released, allowing ERO to assume custody for removal purposes in accordance with federal law.

Detainers are critical public safety tools because they focus enforcement resources on removable noncitizens who have been arrested for criminal activity. Detainers increase the safety of all parties involved — ERO personnel, law enforcement officials, removable noncitizens and the public — by allowing an arrest to be made in a secure and controlled custodial setting as opposed to at-large within the community. Because detainers result in the direct transfer of a noncitizen from state or local custody to ERO custody, they also minimize the potential that an individual will reoffend. Additionally, detainers conserve scarce government resources by allowing ERO to take criminal noncitizens into custody directly rather than expending resources locating these individuals at-large.

ERO is one of ICE’s three operational directorates and the principal federal law enforcement authority in charge of domestic immigration enforcement. ERO’s mission is to protect the homeland through the arrest and removal of those who undermine the safety of U.S. communities and the integrity of U.S. immigration laws, and its primary areas of focus are interior enforcement operations, management of the agency’s detained and non-detained populations, and repatriation of noncitizens who have received final orders of removal. ERO’s workforce consists of more than 7,700 law enforcement and non-law enforcement support personnel across 25 domestic field offices and 208 locations nationwide, 30 overseas postings, and multiple temporary duty travel assignments along the border.

Members of the public can report crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.

Learn more about ICE’s mission to increase public safety in our New England communities on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @EROBoston.

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