U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement apprehended an illegally present Turkish national charged in Massachusetts with assault and battery against a household member, witness intimidation, and two counts of assault and battery against a person with an intellectual disability when officers arrested Berkan Karamurtlu, 27, in Somerville, January 22.
Karamurtlu lawfully entered the United States October 11, 2021, at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York but later violated the terms of his lawful admission.
The Somerville District Court arraigned Karamurtlu on December 24, 2024, for the offences of assault and battery on an intellectually disabled person and witness intimidation. ICE lodged an immigration detainer against Karamurtlu with the Somerville District Court, which ignored the detainer and released Karamurtlu from custody.
The Somerville District Court again arraigned Karamurtlu on January 21 for the offences of assault and battery on a person with intellectually disabled person and assault and battery on a family or household member. ICE then lodged an immigration detainer against Karamurtlu with the Medford Police Department.
ICE served Karamurtlu with a notice to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge following his arrest.
“This is a tragic example of what can go wrong when local jurisdictions refuse to honour immigration detainers,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde.
Hyde added, “The local jurisdiction ignored our detainer and released Berkan Karamurtlu into the community. Unfortunately, he re-offended, resulting in a second arrest for assaulting an intellectually disabled resident.
“Fortunately, the local authorities honoured our second detaine,r and Karamurtlu is now in ICE custody. ICE Boston will continue to prioritise public safety by apprehending and removing egregious alien offenders.”
