In yet another disturbing example of sanctuary policies putting Americans at risk, Immigration Customs and Enforcement in Boston arrested an illegal Ecuadoran immigrant this week who is now facing over 20 sex crime charges involving a Massachusetts minor. Despite a clear ICE detainer request, the local jurisdiction chose to ignore it—releasing the suspect back into the community instead of handing him over to federal authorities.
Sixty-four-year-old Gilberto Avila-Jara was arrested by ICE and federal partners from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) for committing more than 20 charges of child sexual assault and rape. He illegally entered the United States on February 10, 1996, in California and was caught by Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) officials in March of that year. He was ordered by an immigration judge to be sent back to Ecuador but illegally re-entered the U.S. at an unknown location and on an unknown date.
“There are no appropriate words to describe the amount of damage Gilberto Avila-Jara has allegedly done to our Massachusetts community,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia Hyde said. “Children are the most precious and most vulnerable members of our communities, and we will do everything in our power to protect them from illegal sex offenders. ICE Boston remains committed to prioritizing public safety by arresting and removing alien sexual predators from New England.”
ICE Boston has arrested an illegal Ecuadoran national charged with more than 20 sex crimes against a MINOR.
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) April 11, 2025
Does Boston’s Mayor Michelle Wu think these pedophiles are above the law? Imagine what our ICE officers could do without Sanctuary City policies that protect illegal… pic.twitter.com/eHtOIWqgMz
In December 2020, the Lawrence District Court arraigned Avila-Jara on more than 20 charges, including indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, rape of a child with force, and aggravated statutory rape of a minor. ICE filed an immigration detainer with the Lawrence Police Department; however, the court refused to honor the request and released Avila-Jara on bail on March 17, 2021.
According to authorities, the illegal immigrant remained at large until his arrest on April 1, 2025.
President Donald Trump issued a strong warning to sanctuary states that ignore ICE detainer requests, threatening to take away their federal funding.
“They are disgracing our Country and are being mocked all over the World. Working on papers to withhold all Federal Funding for any City or State that allows these Death Traps to exist!!!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “No more Sanctuary Cities!” he wrote. “They protect the Criminals, not the Victims.”
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