A 13-year-old boy whose ICE detention sparked outrage is a member of a feared gang, the Trump administration has claimed.
Arthur Yuri De Almeida Silva Berto was arrested on October 9 in Massachusetts after a classmate said he had shown her a concealed gun on school property, authorities said.
The classmate said Berto, from Brazil, was looking for a boy he had been fighting with and said he was going to ‘shoot and kill him,’ per court documents. Officials said Berto was carrying a 5-inch Milwaukee knife when he was detained.
The arrest was questioned after the boy’s mother gave several interviews explaining she and her son had a pending asylum case.
The teen’s mother told the Boston Globe her ‘world collapsed’ when she learned he had been taken to ICE’s holding facility in Burlington.
But the Department of Homeland Security issued a statement on Thursday saying the teen is a suspected member of the ’33’ gang and has 11 prior police complaints that include breaking and entering, vandalism, theft, fighting and ‘flash mob’ style shoplifting.
The teen was transferred to ICE custody after ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations determined he was a ‘public safety threat,’ Fox News Digital reported.
The Trump administration has claimed Arthur Yuri De Almeida Silva Berto, 13, was arrested by ICE because he is associated with a gang in Massachusetts
The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement on Thursday saying the teen is a suspected member of the ’33’ gang and has 11 prior police complaints. The latest complaint against the teen is seen above
Berto entered the US with his family in September, 2021, through the Arizona border, officials said.
The teen’s contact with police began in June, 2024, when he was allegedly found with known gang members after officers responded to a disturbance report.
The next month Berto was observed on video stealing two bicycles and a cellphone, according to police.
Last March, after other contact with police, Berto was determined by police to be a ‘high-risk juvenile.’
Berto was allegedly caught on video in May taking part in a 33 gang ‘flash-mob-style’ shoplifting incident at a convenience store.
‘Here are the facts: This individual and suspected gang member posed a public safety threat with an extensive rap sheet, including violent assault with a dangerous weapon, battery, breaking and entering and destruction of property,’ DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.
‘Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, federal law enforcement is restoring common sense and law and order to our streets. This public safety threat will stay in juvenile detention pending further proceedings.’
Berto’s mother Josiele Berto declined to comment on the teen’s alleged criminal record when interviewed by CNN.
Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) Kristi Noem speaks during a roundtable on antifa in the State Dining Room of the White House on October 6
The teen is a 7th grader at Albert N. Parlin School in Everett, MA
‘Regardless of the nature of the allegations, they remain just that – allegations – and every individual is entitled to due process of law,’ said the family’s lawyer Andrew Lattarulo.
‘That principle applies even more strongly to a minor who is far below the age of legal consent.’
ICE in Massachusetts has arrested multiple teens as part of what the Trump administration has called Operation Patriot 2.0.
