ICE has arrested five on Nantucket on charges including sex crimes and assault and battery

In a multi-day operation, the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) of Boston have apprehended five men on Nantucket, including one allegedly involved with the MS-13 gang, on sex crime and assault and battery charges.

In the latest arrest, ERO apprehended Angel Gabriel Deras-Mejia, 30, of El Salvador, a gang member charged with disorderly conduct and two counts of assault and battery on a household member. 

ERO Boston arrested Deras-Mejia, a documented member of MS-13, on Sept. 12 on Nantucket, after he’d previously unlawfully entered the country. 

“Angel Gabriel Deras-Mejia unlawfully entered the United States then made his way to Massachusetts to apparently commit crimes of violence,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons in a statement. “To make matters worse, Deras-Mejia is a documented member of a notorious transnational criminal organization and represents a significant threat to the residents of Nantucket.”

MS-13, short for Mara Salvatrucha 13, was formed by Salvadoran immigrants who came to the United States to escape civil war in their home country, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The gang is well-organized, involved in illegal enterprises, and known for using violence to achieve its objectives. 

In 2004, the FBI created the MS-13 National Gang Task Force, which includes strategies to deport MS-13 members back to their home countries. 

ERO’s mission is to protect the U.S. through the arrest and removal of those who undermine the safety of local communities and the integrity of U.S. immigration laws, according to ICE. ERO is one of ICE’s three operational directorates. 

“We recognize that this activity may have been unsettling to many of our residents,” said Nantucket Select Board Chairwoman Brooke Mohr during a Select Board meeting on Wednesday. “It is our understanding that ICE action was not random but targeted to … known individuals on Nantucket.”

Mohr said the town supports the victims of the crimes and their families by providing any counseling or services they might need.  

“Let me be clear: we are committed to the safety and well-being of the members of our community regardless of their immigration status,” Mohr added. “And are relieved that these offenders have been apprehended by the appropriate authorities and are no longer a threat to our community.” 

Prior arrests: 

On Sept. 10, ERO Boston apprehended a 28-year-old Salvadoran national who had also entered the country illegally, Bryan Daniel Aldana-Arevalo, for charges of numerous sex crimes against a child on Nantucket. 

Nantucket authorities arraigned Aldana on July 26 in Nantucket District Court for one count of rape of a child with a 10-year age difference and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. 

The Nantucket District Court released Aldana on bail on July 29. 

ERO Boston also arrested Elmer Sola, 49, of El Salvador, on Sept. 10 with 11 charges of sex crimes against a child on Nantucket. 

The Nantucket Superior Court arraigned Sola on Aug. 14 on three counts of aggravated rape of a child and eight counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. 

ERO Boston apprehended an allegedly unlawfully present Brazilian, Gean Do Amaral Belafronte, on Sept. 11 with charges of sex crimes against a Nantucket resident. 

On March 12, Nantucket Police arrested Belafronte on a default warrant, and later that day, Nantucket District Court released him on bail. Then, on June 9, Nantucket Police arrested him again and charged him with indecent assault and battery on a person 14 years or older. 

ERO Boston arrested Felix Alberto Perez-Gomez, 41, of Guatemala, with a charge of a sex crime against a Nantucket resident on Sept. 11. 

ERO first arrested Perez on June 8, 2011, on charges of reckless driving and endangering another person in Pennsylvania. He was ordered back to his home country.

At some point, Perez reentered the United States. 

The Nantucket District arraigned Perez on Aug. 19, 2024, for indecent assault and battery on a person 14 years and older.

All five men are now in ERO Boston custody.