ICE Arrests Three Portuguese Women Charged in 1-Year-Old Boys Death

Federal immigration authorities have arrested three Portuguese women who are also charged in connection with the death of a Rhode Island infant. 

Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested the women, all living in the United States illegally on February 17 in Pawtucket.

“The alleged crimes of these unlawfully present individuals resulted in the death of an innocent child,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons. “Those who commit crimes against children must be held accountable. Unlawfully present foreign nationals posing a danger to our New England communities cannot expect to escape the consequences of their actions.”

Report from Fox News:

The women were charged with child endangerment, but posted bail following their arraignment and were released by the 6th Division District Court of Rhode Island. Pawtucket police also arrested the boy’s alleged 25-year-old father, who is being held at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston, Rhode Island.

He is charged with manslaughter, three counts of second degree child abuse, and child endangerment. None of the suspects were identified.

Pawtucket police responded to a home for an emergency call and found the boy unresponsive with “significant bruising” on his face, ICE said. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital. 

One of the Portuguese women arrived in the U.S. in 1998 on a tourist visa, but overstayed for more than 25 years, ICE said. The other two arrived in the U.S. under a visa waiver program — one in 2016, and the other in March 2022. 

Both violated the visa and also remained in the country longer than allowed, authorities said.