'MS-13 gang member' wearing Celtics shirt is nabbed after making stupid mistake while driving
An undocumented migrant and suspected member of the notorious MS-13 gang has been arrested in Massachusetts after being pulled over for allegedly using his cell phone while driving.
William Alberto Villalobos-Melendez, a 24-year-old Salvadoran national who US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) say has 'verified connections' to the violent group, was apprehended in Brockton last month after a traffic stop in Middleboro, according to a statement released on Monday.
An arrest photograph shows Villalobos-Melendez, in handcuffs and wearing a green Boston Celtics T-shirt, flanked by three federal officers.
'William Alberto Villalobos-Melendez has been illegally residing in the United States for almost nine years,' said Patricia H Hyde, ICE ERO Boston acting Field Office Director.
'He is a validated member of a violent transnational street gang and poses a threat to our Massachusetts residents,' she added.
'ICE Boston will not tolerate any threat that a member of a nefarious gang poses to our neighbors.'
In March state police pulled over the 24-year-old man and charged him with operating a motor vehicle without a license and using an electronic device while driving, according to the agency.
A day later he was arrested during a coordinated operation led by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston with support from ICE Homeland Security Investigations New England and the FBI's Boston division.
He was taken into ICE custody where he will remain pending approval for his removal from the US.
'We will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting criminal alien threats to our New England communities,' Hyde added.
Villalobos-Melendez was first arrested by US Border Patrol (USBP) in October 2016 after illegally entering the country near Hidalgo, Texas, according to the agency.
After his initial entry into the US, Border Patrol officials determined that he had entered without admission or inspection by an immigration official.
USBP issued Villalobos-Melendez a notice in response, ordering him to appear before a Justice Department immigration judge.
In June of 2019 a DOJ judge ordered that the 24-year-old Salvadoran national be removed from the country, according to ICE.
The Trump administration rounded up almost 1,500 migrants in Massachusetts in May, the biggest ICE sweep yet, officials said last week.
ICE chief Hyde said that 277 migrants have been deported and that 790 were criminals.
A migrant arrested on May 7 was found to have been deported five previous times and came back into the US committing a slew of violent offenses, according to Leah Foley, the US Attorney for the District of Massachusetts.
'Those arrested included individuals who pumped deadly narcotics into our neighborhoods, trafficked firearms for trans-national criminal organizations, defrauded government benefit programs, and in some cases, preyed on vulnerable children,' Foley said at a news conference.
'These are defendants who didn't simply cross a border, they crossed a line and jeopardized the safety of Massachusetts.'
Todd Lyons, the director of ICE, credited 'hundreds of brave officers' who he said 'risked their lives every day' to capture migrants.
Lyons, a Boston native, said they arrested several convicted murderers, child sex offenders and abusers as he turned to a board of mugshots of some of the migrants arrested.
'ICE is going to make sure we keep the community safe,' Lyons added.
Last month Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, often referred to as the 'Democratic dictator' for her progressive policies, ignited controversy after an on-air interview about federal immigration authorities as raids erupted across the state.
In the interview at the WBUR Festival the 40-year-old mayor described ICE agents as 'secret police' who are 'terrorizing' people across Boston.
'People are terrified for their lives and for their neighbors,' Wu said.
'Folks are getting snatched off the street by secret police who are wearing masks, who can offer no justification for why certain people are being taken and then detained.'
Her remarks prompted a swift response from US Attorney Foley, who condemned the mayor for 'inciting hostility' against federal agents.
'Referring to federal agents as 'secret police' is offensive,' Foley said in a video shared to X. 'There are no secret police.'
'ICE agents, along with other federal law enforcement partners, are making immigration arrests. That is no secret.'
'They are arresting individuals who are here illegally, which is a violation of federal law,' she added. 'To claim otherwise is a gross misrepresentation and a disservice to the public.'
As of Tuesday the Trump administration has deported more than 139,000 migrants, which represents a sharp increase since inauguration day but falls behind the president's aggressive targets.
The sweeping effort has not been without controversy. A number of individuals have been wrongly deported, including to El Salvador's notorious CECOT mega-prison.
The clampdown has also prompted furious riots, the most serious of which in Los Angeles were still raging as of Tuesday.
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