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A Brazilian convicted of raping a 5-year-old was arrested last week 7,000 miles away on Martha's Vineyard, just weeks after another Brazilian wanted for double murder was found there.
The Massachusetts enclave is home to the likes of the Obamas, Larry David and Michael J. Fox and was a destination for migrants sent by Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in a bid to highlight Democrats' disastrous border policy.
Saulo Cardoso Ferreira, 37, was convicted of raping a 5-year-old child in 2019 and escaped, having failed to appear in May of that year serve out his 14-year sentence.
The city of Boston's Enforcement and Removal Operations said in a statement that Ferreira 'unlawfully entered the United States on an unknown date, at an unknown location.'
They add that the convicted rapist was never 'inspected or admitted by an immigration official.'
Saulo Cardoso Ferreira, 37, was convicted of raping a 5-year-old child in 2019 and escaped, having failed to appear in May of that year serve out his 14-year sentence
Authorities were tipped off to Ferreira being on Martha's Vineyard on September 28, though it took nearly six weeks to apprehend him, finally getting him on a vehicle stop in West Tisbury on November 14.
'This undocumented Brazilian national represented a significant threat to the inhabitants of Martha's Vineyard,' said immigration field office director Todd Lyons.
'He sexually assaulted a 5-year-old child in his homeland, and then ran from authorities when held accountable for his actions.'
'ERO Boston will not allow such predators to threaten our residents. We will continue to apprehend and remove anyone who attempts to use our New England community as a refuge from justice.'
In fiscal year 2022, ERO arrested 46,396 noncitizens with criminal histories.
This group had 198,498 associated charges and convictions, including 21,531 assault offenses, 8,164 sex and sexual assault offenses, 5,554 weapons offenses, 1,501 homicide-related offenses and 1,114 kidnapping offenses.
Ferreira is the second Brazilian criminal taken into custody on the island in the past six weeks.
Just weeks earlier, another Brazilian fugitive wanted for murder has been arrested nearly 7,000 miles away on Martha's Vineyard, living among America's rich and famous.
Hiago Ornela-Da Silva was captured by federal agents in Edgartown, Massachusetts on September 28, the same day authorities were tipped off about Ferreira.
Ornela-Da Silva went on the run in February last year after being named as a murder suspect in Barra de Sao Francisco in the Brazilian state of Espirito Santo.
It is not clear how the illegal immigrant made his way to Martha's Vineyard, but US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said he had entered the country illegally on multiple occasions dating back to 2007.
Ferreira is the second Brazilian criminal taken into custody on the island in the past six weeks
Hiago Ornela-Da Silva, 31, was arrested in Martha's Vineyard Thursday
Authorities say he as illegally entered the country several times since 2007 and they do not know when he last entered the US and how long he has been living on the island
Ornela-Da Silva has been wanted in Brazil for homicide charges since February 2022
'The arrest of this Brazilian noncitizen demonstrates our commitment to prioritizing enforcement and removal efforts against unlawfully present noncitizens who are wanted for crimes in their home countries,' said Lyons.
The agency said the fugitive first illegally entered the US as a minor in December 2007 and was removed by a judge in June 2008.
He filed to rescind that removal in July 2008, which was granted in August 2008. But was again ordered to leave the country in January 2009.
In August 2009 he left the US through the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
Officials said he then unlawfully reentered the country at an unknown date and location without being inspected. He will remain in custody pending his extradition.
In September 2022, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis flew 50 migrants to Martha's Vineyard in what some called a political stunt
In September 2022, DeSantis flew two planes of 50 migrants to the liberal town on the island..
The move sparked outcry from the liberal leaders of the small island in Massachusetts who branded it 'inhumane.'
The median house in Martha's Vineyard is worth over $800,000, according to the census, and the median household income is $77,392.
The exclusive enclave is where Barack and Michelle Obama bought their $12 million vacation home in 2019, and where he celebrated his 60th birthday last year.
In 2017, John Kerry bought a historic waterfront property in Chilmark for $11.75 million.
Former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have a place on the ritzy enclave
President Bill Clinton, center, sings with musician Carly Simon, left, as they join the band Entrain for a performance during a party on Martha's Vineyard in 1994
Larry David is one of several famous TV stars living on Martha's Vineyard
Celebrity visitors include Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and members of the Kennedy family.
The median house in Martha's Vineyard is worth almost $800,000, according to the census, and the median household is $77,370 - well above the national average of $67,521.
The island home of the elites is usually not a haven for crime. A 2019 report by local officials saw arrests anywhere from he teens to under 300 annually.
There is no known connection between the migrants sent to the area by GOP governors and these two suspects arrested within weeks of one another.
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