A Haitian illegal immigrant now charged with drug and weapons crimes in Massachusetts was released into the United States by officials at the southern border last year, officials said this week – just as Haitian migration has become a top political issue.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Boston division announced that they had taken Gasnoy Saintilme into custody on Aug. 26 at the Worcester District Court. The Haitian national is charged with conspiracy to violate drug laws, drug distribution, drug manufacturing and unlawfully carrying a dangerous weapon.
ICE said Border Patrol encountered Saintilme in February 2023 after entering the U.S. illegally. He was given a notice to appear before an immigration judge and was released on parole, the agency said in a statement.
HAITIAN MIGRANT ACCUSED OF MOLESTING CHILD IS IN US VIA CONTROVERSIAL BIDEN-HARRIS PROGRAM
ICE agents picked up Saintilme after being alerted by the Worcester Sheriff’s Office. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
He was arrested in Worcester on March 7 on conspiracy to violate drug laws, but was released on recognizance, before again being arrested in April on weapons and drugs charges.
After ICE issued a detainer – a request to local authorities that they be alerted to a potential release so they can take a suspected illegal immigrant into custody – the sheriff’s office notified them when he posted bail.
“Gasnoy Saintilme unlawfully entered the United States and has now been charged with conspiracy, weapons charges and attempting to manufacture and distribute poison in our Massachusetts communities,” ICE Enforcement and Removals Operation Boston Field Office Director Todd Lyons said in a statement. “We are beyond pleased that our partners at the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office honored our immigration detainer and transferred custody of Saintilme to ERO officers. The Worcester County Sheriff’s Office remains a valued ally in our fight to prioritize public safety in our Massachusetts neighborhoods. ERO Boston will continue our efforts to arrest and remove egregious noncitizen offenders from New England.”
The announcement of Saintilme’s arrest comes as Haitian migration into the U.S. remains a top political issue. This week, former President Trump brought up alleged issues that the town of Springfield, Ohio, is having with Haitian migrants – where there has been a surge in arrivals in recent years.
Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine also announced he’ll be funneling resources to help ease the influx of the approximately 20,000 Haitian migrants that have arrived in the city of Springfield legally under the Biden-Harris administration.
“As these numbers dramatically pick up, there’s some obligation for the federal government to help local communities who had nothing to do with the decision about people coming in, but now find themselves with a massive number of people,” DeWine said Tuesday.
In Massachusetts, ICE officials announced last week that a Haitian migrant who entered the U.S. as part of the parole processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans (CHNV) was arrested. He is accused of allegedly molesting a 10-year-old boy who lived next door to him.
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Akim Marc Desire, 18, was arrested by police last week in Mansfield, Massachusetts, about 45 minutes south of Boston, and is being charged with indecent assault and battery on a child under age 14, law enforcement sources told Fox News.
Last month, ICE announced it had located and arrested a Haitian immigrant brought in on the same program who had been released on a $500 bond despite facing charges of raping a 15-year-old while staying at a migrant hotel in the state.
Fox News’ Michael Lee and Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.