Federal immigration authorities apprehended and deported a Brazilian fugitive who was wanted in his home country on rape charges.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers deported Marcio Dos Santos, a 40-year-old foreign national, back to Brazil on May 31, according to a Monday press release from the agency. Federal immigration authorities say Dos Santos attempted to avoid justice in his home country by fleeing to the United States.

“Marcio Dos Santos attempted to flee a rape charge in Brazil by hiding out in Connecticut,” ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd Lyons said in a statement. “He posed a threat to the residents of our community, and we could not allow that to continue.”

“The men and women of ERO Boston are the best in the business at finding noncitizens who don’t want to be found,” Lyons continued.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) permitted Dos Santos to enter the U.S. legally in Newark, New Jersey on March 11, 2022, according to the press release. However, the agency said Santos then “violated the terms of his admittance,” likely meaning federal immigration authorities learned of his charges in Brazil.

Deportation officers out of Boston apprehended Dos Santos on Feb. 14 near his home in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and served him with a notice to appear before an immigration judge, according to the agency. An immigration judge ordered him to be deported on March 25, and deportation officers removed him from the country on May 31, transferring him to the custody of Brazilian law enforcement officials.

“We will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing the most egregious noncitizen offenders from New England,” Lyons said of the deportation.

News of Dos Santos’ apprehension and deportation follows a major sweep of foreign nationals living in the U.S. while wanted for heinous crimes in their home countries.

Deportation officers apprehended 11 different illegal migrants last month in a nationwide sweep that spanned numerous major cities, the agency recently announced. Among those arrested were foreign nationals wanted for various human rights abuses, such as extrajudicial killings, rape, forced abortions and sterilizations, religious persecution and also enforced disappearances.

Lyons also recently announced the arrest of an Ecuadorian illegal immigrant wanted in his home country for allegedly raping a child and the arrest of a Dominican national wanted in his home country for homicide.

(Featured Image Media Credit: Markus Spiske/Unsplash)