We know a little more about the Haitian citizen arrested by Immigration Services in East Boston on Thursday.
Wisteguens Jean Quely Charles, a 25-year-old Haitian national, was apprehended on Thursday during an operation conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers in Boston.
Contrary to reports in some U.S. media, Wisteguens Jean Quely Charles is not a beneficiary of the Biden program, according to the release from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which also did not specify whether Wisteguens Jean Quely Charles was a member of a gang in Haiti.
This individual had been living in the United States since 2013. He has 17 criminal convictions in the state of Massachusetts to his credit.
According to an ICE release, Charles, a member of a violent street gang, was apprehended on January 22, 2025, in Boston.
His convictions include drug and weapons crimes, as well as assault and violence.
A Landmark Case of Recidivism
Charles entered the United States legally on July 13, 2013, in Miami, Florida. However, he allegedly violated the terms of his legal admission. Between August 16, 2022, and August 14, 2024, he was arrested, charged, and convicted of 17 felonies, including:
- Possession and distribution of controlled substances
- Carrying a dangerous weapon (brass knuckles)
- Illegal possession of firearms and ammunition
- Assault and battery with a dangerous weapon
- Resisting arrest
Despite a detention notice issued by ERO Boston in April 2023, Norfolk Correctional Center released the offender in October 2023 without complying with this request, leading to his reappearance in the community, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lamented.
The acting director of the local office, Patricia H. Hyde, provided details on the case of the recidivist criminal and promised to continue tracking down other offenders.
“Mr. Charles is in the United States illegally and has consistently broken our laws, causing considerable harm to Massachusetts residents. ERO Boston will not tolerate the repeated victimization of our New England neighborhoods. We will continue our mission to apprehend these illegal alien offenders and remove them from our communities.”
On January 22, 2025, Charles was finally arrested by ICE agents in Boston and served with a notice to appear before a DOJ immigration judge.
He currently remains in ICE custody, the immigration service said, having provided details of the operation. This is a routine operation that ICE agents have been conducting regularly for a very long time. These activities did not begin under the Trump era.
It is important to note that several other suspected criminals were apprehended during this immigration enforcement operation in Boston. However, only the face of Wisteguens Jean Quely Charles was shown to the general public. A filter was added to the faces of the others. Nor did ICE provide details of the case of the other alleged wrongdoers in its release.
ERO, one of ICE’s three operational branches, is responsible for enforcing immigration laws within the United States.
Its mission is to protect the homeland by arresting and deporting those who jeopardize the safety of communities and the integrity of migration laws, explained the U.S. agency in its release, which invited the public to contact the ICE hotline at 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or fill out the online form for any information regarding violations or suspicious activities.
https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-ero-boston-arrests-haitian-gang-member-numerous-convictions