Framingham Rape Case Becomes Fodder for Immigration Debate

FRAMINGHAM, MA - Four undocumented immigrants accused of a brutal rape in Framingham await their federal detention status as their case gains traction among those who believe the immigration system in the United States is broken.

Elmer Diaz, 19, is charged with rape, assault with a dangerous weapon, kidnapping and threatening to commit a crime; his brother, Ariel Diaz, 24, faces charges of unarmed robbery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, indecent assault and battery, kidnapping and witness intimidation; a third Diaz brother, 32-year-old Adan, and Marlon Josue Jarquin-Felipe, 27, are charged with indecent assault and battery and kidnapping stemming from last week's alleged assault.

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But as further details about the Diaz brothers and Jarquin-Felipe emerge, much scrutiny has been placed on the country's immigration policies and whether or not they contributed to the assault.

The four men, all from Guatemala, are accused of cornering a woman and her boyfriend on Claflin Street as they enjoyed an evening out in town on March 13. The boyfriend told the Boston Herald the four men surrounded him and his girlfriend after one man offered them a beer.

According to the Herald, police said one of the suspects held up a condom and indicated that he wanted the man's girlfriend. Three of them then dragged the woman to an apartment on the corner of the street while the largest of the four kept the boyfriend at bay.

Police say the three men then attempted to blockade the door with a dresser and started climbing on top of the woman and groping her, the Herald reported. Elmer Diaz also reportedly reached into the woman's pants and digitally penetrated her while holding a pen knife, the Metro West Daily News reported.

The boyfriend eventually forced his way into the apartment, fighting off the attackers to help his girlfriend escape, police said. He was also injured during the assault.

Police quickly responded and arrested the four men. They found the boyfriend’s missing cellphone and clothing the woman said the men who attacked her were wearing in the apartment where two of the suspects reside.

Immigration officials have since sought detainers on the four men, who have plead not guilty and are being held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing.

Two of the men, Ariel Diaz and Josue Jarquin-Felipe had previously been deported to Guatemala, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement told the Herald.

Diaz was deported in May 2014 after being convicted of drunk driving and disorderly conduct; Jarquin-Felipe had been deported a month earlier.

Many conservative outlets have shared the story and while few writers have directly opined about the crime; some have implied it is indication of a broken immigration system.

One Brietbart writer posted the story under the headline "Diversity: Four Illegals Held in Brutal Gang Rape in Massachusetts," followed by a picture of Obama shrugging.

Ann Coulter shared the story on her Facebook page with the caption "BC frat members brutally gang rape woman! Haha- jk. Report: Illegals held in vicious Framingham rape -"

And the Boston Herald, which impartially and thoroughly covered the rape allegations, sought a connection between the crime and a 2011 drunk driving accident that claimed the life of a Milford man. The driver who struck the victim was an undocumented immigrant from Ecuador.

Citing two events separated by five years involving a handful of men from two different countries, the Herald quotes the mother of the man killed in the crash as saying there has to be a solution to the rash of undocumented immigrants coming through the United States' borders and committing crimes.