Immigration officials arrest illegal alien in Webster

U.S. Marshals Service/U.S. Customs Enforcement Report

WEBSTER, Mass. — The U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) fugitive investigators — assisted by the Webster Police Department — arrested Wellington Sousa Damasio today in Webster. He is currently in ICE custody pending his removal from the United States.

Damasio, 44, an illegal alien, is also wanted by authorities in Brazil on rape charges. In 2008, Damasio was convicted of rape in Brazil and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Prior to serving his sentence, Damasio absconded from Brazil and fled to the United States.

U.S. Marshals Service investigators assigned to Interpol developed information that Damasio had no legal status in the United States and relayed this information to the U.S. Marshals Service Massachusetts Fugitive Task Force. Task force members were able to locate Damasio in Webster.

Once back in Brazil, Damasio will begin serving his 10 year sentence.

ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) is focused on smart, effective immigration enforcement that targets serious criminal aliens who present the greatest risk to the security of our communities, such as those charged with or convicted of homicide, rape, robbery, kidnapping, major drug offenses and threats to national security. ERO also prioritizes the arrest and removal of those who game the immigration system including immigration fugitives or those criminal aliens who have been previously deported and illegally re-entered the country.

Since Oct. 1, 2009, ERO has removed more than 335 foreign fugitives from the United States who were being sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder. ERO works with ICE's Office of International Affairs, foreign consular offices in the United States, and Interpol to identify foreign fugitives illegally present in the country.