An unlawful immigrant busted at a state-run shelter in Revere with $1 million price of fentanyl and an AR-15 was not formally a part of Massachusetts’ emergency help program and isn’t but within the custody of federal immigration officers regardless of Gov. Maura Healey’s declare that he was Tuesday.
A day after ordering an inspection of all emergency shelter models, Healey stated federal authorities had taken custody of Leonardo Andujar Sanchez, who immigration officers stated unlawfully entered the nation at an unknown date and placement throughout the previous 12 months.
However Karissa Hand, a spokesperson for Healey, later informed the Herald that the governor had “misspoke” when speaking to reporters and Sanchez was nonetheless in state custody after a choose ordered him held final week pending a dangerousness listening to.
Healey stated Sanchez didn’t apply for emergency help shelter, which was arrange below a decades-old regulation to supply short-term housing to homeless pregnant girls and households with kids, however was staying with somebody who was authorized to obtain advantages and companies.
“No, he didn’t apply. That’s what we understand. I mean, we’re going to learn more through this investigation,” Healey informed reporters after an occasion on the Boston Public Library in Copley Sq.. “… This is subject to criminal investigation so I want to be careful about what I’m saying.”
A spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement stated Sanchez entered the nation “without inspection or admission by an immigration official.” ICE officers have lodged an immigration detainer in opposition to Sanchez, the company beforehand confirmed.
“He remains in state custody,” the spokesperson stated in an announcement after Healey claimed earlier within the day that Sanchez was “being held by ICE now while the criminal prosecution continues.”
Healey didn’t establish the one that Sanchez was staying with at a High quality Inn in Revere serving as a state-run shelter and referred questions from the Herald to the Government Workplace of Housing and Livable Communities, which partially oversees the system.
For the previous 12 months and a half, the Healey administration has stated solely migrants who’re lawfully allowed into the USA by the federal authorities are eligible for state-run shelter companies.
About half of the households within the shelter system are migrants whereas the remainder are Massachusetts residents, in response to the administration.
Revere Mayor Patrick Keefe stated town “increased the police presence” on the High quality Inn and plans to carry the “operator of the property responsible for any and all fees or costs associated with this additional enforcement support.”
“We cannot let individuals who prey on vulnerable people and who seek to do harm access our country through systems meant to help those fleeing the same violence in their homelands. We will continue to work in partnership with our state and federal leaders to uphold the laws of our commonwealth and our values of protecting children from sleeping on the street,” Keefe stated in an announcement.
Sanchez faces 11 fees stemming from the arrest, together with 10 associated to firearms and one alleging he had 4.9 kilos, or simply below 11 kilos, of fentanyl, in response to courtroom paperwork. His privately employed lawyer has beforehand stated the fees are “just allegations.”
“We are going to fight this case tooth and nail and we are going to hold the Commonwealth to the standard that they have to prove every element of every charge to a reasonable doubt,” Legal professional John Benzan informed the Herald final week.
Benzan didn’t instantly reply to a Herald inquiry Tuesday.
ICE officers stated Sanchez was arrested Dec. 27 and arraigned in Chelsea District Courtroom days later for possessing a firearm and a big capability feeding system, possessing a firearm in a felony, being an alien in possession of a firearm, the unlicensed sale or possession of an assault weapon, and trafficking in 200 grams or extra of heroin, morphine, opium or fentanyl.
“During a Spanish-language interview, ERO officers determined that Andujar unlawfully entered the U.S. on an unknown date at an unknown location sometime within the past year,” ICE officers stated in an announcement final week that referred to the company’s Enforcement and Removing Operations unit in Boston.
Sanchez’s arrest sparked Healey to order an inspection of all state-run shelter models and a “full review” of the consumption course of for the system to find out if extra steps might be added to stop legal exercise.
A spokesperson for Healey stated inspections will likely be carried out by workers of the varied suppliers serving the shelters “consistent with applicable shelter rules.”
Employees members will likely be tasked with on the lookout for any “non-compliance with shelter rules, such as indications of criminal activity or anything that would raise significant health or safety concerns,” the spokesperson stated.
Eliot Neighborhood Human Companies, a Lexington-based group, is the supplier for the Revere shelter, in response to the state’s housing company. The group’s president and CEO, Melinda Matthews, didn’t reply to an emailed inquiry from the Herald.
However Eliot Neighborhood Human Companies Vice President for Public Affairs Nancy Allen Scannell stated the group doesn’t present particulars concerning the people it serves or its workers.
The group does take “numerous steps to create a safe environment for our residents and the employees who support them,” Scannell stated in an announcement.
“In circumstances where we are aware of illegal behavior or public safety risks, we inform and cooperate fully with law enforcement. We appreciate the efforts of the Revere Police Department in helping us maintain the safety of our residents and employees,” Scannel stated.
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