Hyannis Man Released From ICE Custody

CHELMSFORD – A Hyannis man earlier this month was released on bond after nine months in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.

Judge Natalie Smith on Feb. 3 ordered that Thiago Bastos, 27, be released from the ICE detention facility in Berlin, N.H., on a reduced $15,000 bond, an official from Chelmsford Immigration Court confirmed Tuesday.

Bastos had been in ICE custody since May following his arraignment on charges of operating under the influence of alcohol, failure to stop for police, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and a marked lanes violation. He was taken into ICE custody following his May 12 arraignment, and had been in the New Hampshire facility since May 29, according to court records.

The charges against Bastos in Orleans District Court were eventually dismissed in December after repeated attempts to have him appear in court to face those charges were unsuccessful. A motion was filed to dismiss the charges due to ICE’s unresponsiveness to court orders that Bastos be made available either in person or virtually, and Judge Robert Welsh allowed the motion on Dec. 22.

Bastos is now appealing an order out of Chelmsford Immigration Court from September that he be deported. Attorney Thomas Rugo, who defended Bastos in Orleans District Court, said Bastos is originally from Brazil and has lived in the United States for about 14 years.

While in custody, two of Bastos’ three children, ages five and six, were left in the custody of his mother, Ionara Pfleger of Brewster. His third child, who is 3, was in their mother’s custody.

Bastos’ case in Orleans drew support from Lower and Outer Cape residents who protested for his release from ICE custody. Wayne Bergeron of Dennis, a member of the Cape Cod Coalition for Safe Communities, was one of several supporters that came together and helped Bastos’ family make his bond.

“It’s not hopeless,” he said. “And because it’s not hopeless, people can go ahead and do what they need to do in terms of just getting together and figuring things out. Persistence is big. You can’t be afraid to speak to people who have some sway over things.”

Bergeron said while he has not talked to Bastos since his release, he has received “pictures of him surrounded by his family, all smiling.” He applauded Judge Welsh for supporting the motion to dismiss the charges against Bastos, as well as Cape and Islands District Attorney Rob Galibois for not challenging the dismissal.

For Karen Boujoukos of Harwich, a member of the Nauset Interfaith Association who also protested in support of Bastos, his release is a victory that demonstrates the power of both peaceful protest and community action. But she also cautioned against complacency. 

“It’s absolutely delightful that this young man has been released and is back with his family,” she said. “But there are others who are probably going through the same thing. I think that as concerned community members, we can’t focus just on the one good, while it’s great and helps uplift everyone’s spirits when they’re feeling so much despair about what our federal government is doing. It’s important to stay focused on the fact that there are others that are experiencing this as well.”

Going forward, Bergeron said a local advocacy group including many of the people who rallied in support of Bastos’ release, plan to take further action as needed to help others in the community that might be under the threat of detention or deportation.

“There are Thiagos all over the place,” he said. “People are isolated, people have been taken without any habeas corpus, due process. Now it's happening to American citizens. So we’re just working to go ahead and just do what we can where we can do it.”

Selenia Destefani, the attorney representing Bastos in his appeal, did not respond to requests for comment as of The Chronicle’s Tuesday deadline. But both Bastos and the Department of Homeland Security are scheduled to brief the court on the status of the case on March 2, according to information on file with the Executive Office of Immigration Review.