70-year-old legal resident detained at Boston airport after trip, advocates say
UPDATE: This story was updated with additional information the morning of May 1 and with a statement from U.S. Customs and Border Protection the afternoon of May 2.
A Massachusetts woman with permanent legal status was wrongly detained by border agents at a Boston airport after returning home from an international vacation, advocates said.
The reason for her detention wasn’t immediately made clear, according to state advocacy groups that banded together in support of her release.
Following a trip to Zimbabwe, the 70-year-old Worcester resident was apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol upon arriving at the Boston Logan International Airport the afternoon of April 29, according to an April 30 news release issued by the organizations, which include the Student Clinic for Immigrant Justice and Neighbor to Neighbor.
The woman, Ruth Mufute, is a member of the Student Clinic for Immigrant Justice, its executive director, Jonathan Goldman, told Worcester Telegram & Gazette. She’s a development manager, Goldman said.
Now, as of 2 p.m. ET April 30, a federal judge has released her after about 24 hours of detainment, a spokesman said in an emailed statement to McClatchy News on behalf of the organizations.
The day before she was taken into custody, Mufute was indicted on federal wire fraud charges, court records show. The indictment, dated April 28, was filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.
Goldman told WCVB-TV that “even with these charges, even with whatever they are alleging she did or didn’t do, we don’t think anyone should be held in detention.”
Mufute is accused of illegally obtaining housing allowances from a non-profit organization based in Durham, North Carolina, she worked for, according to her indictment. The company, only identified as “company 1” in the filing, “worked closely” with the U.S. Agency for International Development, has several international offices and provides health care services, prosecutors wrote.
Prosecutors are accusing Mufute of wire fraud in connection with her time at the company’s South Africa office, where they said she served as its representative.
In a statement to McClatchy News on May 2, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said “Ruth Mufute was arrested at Logan Airport on April 29, 2025, on a warrant for wire fraud and conspiracy issued by the USAID Office of Inspector General.”
The agency spokesperson referred further inquiries to the USAID office.
While speaking with the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Goldman said Mufute was detained in connection with a case “involving a former employer” and that he wasn’t “100% on the details.”
U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith G. Dein appointed federal defenders to represent Mufute on April 29, when she was in custody, records show
After Mufute appeared in Boston federal court for initial court proceedings April 30, the government withdrew its “motion for detention” and released her, records show. The judge ordered Mufute to appear in North Carolina federal court on May 15.
Her release comes after advocacy groups gathered outside the Boston federal courthouse and held a news conference, advocating for her release, the afternoon of April 30.
Neighbor to Neighbor told McClatchy News via email on April 30 that there had ”been little information on the cause for detainment.”
“Ruth is a lawful green card holder residing in Worcester, and her only crime seems to be working with a known immigration non-profit,” the organization said in an emailed statement on April 30.
According to the Student Clinic for Immigrant Justice, the woman is a grandmother and a longtime community advocate.
Dálida Rocha, Neighbor to Neighbor’s executive director, denounced authorities detaining the “lawful permanent resident,” calling the situation “unacceptable” in a statement included in the news release.
“At her age, this kind of treatment is not only cruel, it’s dangerous,” Rocha said. “We need clarity around this situation and a guarantee that she is being given fair and due processing.”
Worcester, where the woman is from, is about a 45-mile drive southwest from Boston.
This story was originally published April 30, 2025 at 5:04 PM.
.jpg)