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Federal immigration authorities arrested a Brazilian national wanted for aggravated murder in his home country in Massachusetts on August 3, just 48 hours before Democratic Governor Maura Healey signed comprehensive legislation restricting ICE operations statewide. Maycon Souto Dos Reis, 54, had been convicted of aggravated murder in Brazil on September 14, 2024, and received a sentence of 14 years and three months before an arrest warrant was issued in his name.
Dos Reis entered the United States illegally at the southern border in June 2024 but was released into the country under Biden-era border policies, according to ICE records. He subsequently relocated to Massachusetts and came under federal scrutiny following his May 29 arrest for driving without a license in Southborough. ICE officers conducted a targeted operation at Westborough District Court to take him into custody on August 3.
Governor Healey signed the PROTECT Act into law on August 5, establishing the nation’s most stringent restrictions on ICE enforcement activities by prohibiting immigration agents from entering courthouses, schools, hospitals, and healthcare facilities. The legislation also bans new agreements under Section 287(g) that allow local police to enforce federal immigration law and creates civil rights claims against government officials involved in detention or deportation actions.
ICE officials characterized the arrest as emblematic of cases where media narratives downplay the criminal histories of undocumented immigrants. “Many of these individuals are murderers, sexual predators, gang members and more: They simply do not have a criminal record in the United States,” stated David Wesling, Acting ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Director for Boston. Dos Reis remains in federal custody pending deportation proceedings.
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