U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says its officers arrested at least 82 people living in Massachusetts illegally during a three-day targeted enforcement operation carried out in the third week of September.
According to ICE, those taken into custody included individuals facing charges or convictions for assault, battery of a child under age 14, possession of child sexual assault material, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, indecent assault, extortion by threat of injury, strangulation or suffocation, driving under the influence, and larceny. ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division announced the results in a social media post on Sunday.
Joseph Sher, director of ICE’s Boston Field Office, criticized state officials over Massachusetts’ sanctuary policies, which limit how much local and state authorities cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
“Time and time again, sanctuary politicians in Massachusetts have made the dumbfounding choice to prioritize dangerous criminal illegal aliens rather than their law-abiding American citizens,” Sher said. “While these politicians continue to waste valuable time, energy and resources passing embarrassingly performative legislation such as the Protect Act, ERO Boston will continue to proudly protect Massachusetts communities from these dangerous criminals.”
ICE did not release the full list of names or detailed case histories for all 82 people arrested in the operation, though officials pointed to specific examples of arrests involving serious criminal charges as representative of the sweep’s targets.
The agency framed the operation as part of a broader push under the Trump administration to arrest and remove noncitizens with criminal records from jurisdictions that restrict cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
“Sanctuary policies only put American citizens at risk by allowing dangerous criminal illegal aliens to walk the street freely, without regard to the crimes they have committed,” ICE officials said in a statement. “Now, under President Trump and Secretary Mullin’s leadership, sanctuary cities are no longer a safe haven for the worst of the worst, such as child predators and sex offenders.”
The operation adds to ongoing tension between federal immigration authorities and Massachusetts officials over the state’s sanctuary policies, which generally limit how far local law enforcement can go in helping ICE detain and transfer people flagged for immigration violations. Federal officials have said they intend to keep conducting targeted operations in the state despite those restrictions.
