The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), together with other federal law enforcement agencies, arrested 1,406 illegal immigrant offenders between Sept. 4 and 30 from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the agency said in an Oct. 16 statement.
The arrested individuals included rapists, murderers, child sex predators, and drug traffickers, ICE said.
“More than 600 illegal aliens arrested had significant criminal convictions or pending criminal charges for crimes committed in the United States or were known foreign fugitives,” ICE said.
Among the arrested were an El Salvadoran citizen convicted of indecent assault and assault to rape, a Brazilian with criminal pending charges including rape, an Indian national with pending charges for battery on a person over 14, a Laotian convicted of second-degree murder, and a Turkish national with pending charges for kidnapping.
Arrests were made as part of Operation Patriot 2.0, the latest iteration of Operation Patriot launched by ICE in direct response to sanctuary policies in Massachusetts, which ended on May 31. On Sept. 6, Patriot 2.0 was launched.
Sanctuary policies are rules prohibiting local officials from enforcing immigration regulations and complying with federal authorities. Boston is included in a list of such sanctuary jurisdictions maintained by the Department of Justice.
Under Patriot 2.0, law enforcement targeted criminal illegal immigrants known to operate in and around Boston as well as throughout Massachusetts.
Some of them were affiliated with transnational criminal organizations such as Tren de Aragua, Trinitarios, MS-13, and 18th Street gangs, said the agency.
Three of the arrested individuals were suspected or known terrorists.
Among the criminal illegals arrested as part of Patriot 2.0, 277 were previously ordered to be removed from the United States by a Department of Justice immigration judge, ICE said.
“Patriot 2.0 exposed the grave consequences of sanctuary policies and the urgent need for local leaders to prioritize their constituents’ safety over politics,” said acting ICE Director Todd M. Lyons.
“Every illegal alien we arrested during the operation was breaking U.S. immigration law, and hundreds were violent criminals who should never have been allowed to roam freely in our communities. Local law enforcement agencies released them instead of handing them over to us in a secure environment, and this puts neighborhoods, law enforcement officers, and illegal aliens at risk.”
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has faced criticism from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for promoting rhetoric against immigration enforcement officers.
In a Sept. 17 statement, DHS highlighted an incident where Wu compared ICE to a neo-Nazi group, NSC-131.
“I don’t know of any police department that routinely wears masks. We know that there are other groups that routinely wear masks. NSC-131 routinely wears masks,” she said in comments, according to a June 5 X post from the official White House account.
The Epoch Times reached out to Wu for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
Sanctuary Policies
During testimony to Congress in March, Wu said that Boston followed the law when it came to matters related to immigration enforcement.
“The Constitution, as I understand it, doesn’t require cities or police officers or anyone to follow ... federal laws in conflict with local laws or state laws,” Wu said.
Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) said Boston’s laws prohibit the use of city personnel and resources for enforcing civil immigration detainers, due to which “Boston police and other departments cannot cooperate with ICE when it comes to detaining on civil warrants.”
Wu replied, “Whenever someone commits a crime, whenever there’s a criminal warrant, we hold them accountable.”
When asked to confirm whether this would involve delivering suspects to the ICE, Wu said, “We follow the laws and make sure that everyone ...”
Comer cut her off, saying, “I think that is a no.”
In a Sept. 9 statement, DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin criticized Wu’s position on the issue of sanctuary policies.
“Sanctuary policies like those pushed by Mayor Wu not only attract and harbor criminals but protect them at the peril of law-abiding American citizens,” she said.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, nowhere is a safe haven for criminal illegal aliens. If you come to our country illegally and break our laws, we will hunt you down, arrest you, deport you, and you will never return.”
