Massachusetts ICE arrests: 1,400 detained in September enforcement sweep
More than 1,400 people in Massachusetts were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ) in September.
The arrests came during what federal officials have dubbed "Operation Patriot 2.0″ and include detainments from Sept. 4 to Sept. 30.
The first "Operation Patriot" led to the arrest of nearly 1,500 people across Massachusetts in May. Many of those arrested did not have a criminal record, according to The Boston Globe .
On Sept. 10, ICE announced it had arrested at least seven people as it was ramping up immigration enforcement in Boston , describing those arrested as the "worst of the worst."
ICE stated that the seven people were arrested in Boston, but did not provide specifics about where they were detained or where their charges originated.
More than 600 of the people arrested through September had "significant criminal convictions or pending criminal charges for crimes committed in the United States or were known foreign fugitives," according to ICE on Thursday.
This included six people who were documented members of transnational criminal gangs, while several others were gang associates, ICE said.
Other's had committed crimes such as murders, rapes, drug trafficking and child sex predators, ICE stated. The arrests spanned Massachusetts, including in Boston and on Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. ICE reported arresting about 40 people on the two islands.
"We continue to work alongside our federal partners to rid our great country of murderers, child predators, gang members, drug traffickers and many more," said ICE HSI New England Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol. "Public safety and national security remain our number one priority, and we will not relent."
Officials released the names, photos and information regarding 23 of the 1,400 arrested, stating they were "among the worst of the worst."
This includes Mauricio Eguizabal-Ovalle, 47, who faces charges of seven counts of indecent assault and battery, three counts of statutory rape, aggravated rape of a child with a five-year age gap, six counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and unnatural acts with a child in Bristol County.
It also includes people with drug charges and illegal possession of a firearm.
It is unclear how many of the 1,400 had a criminal record.
Acting ICE Director Todd M. Lyons called out "sanctuary policies" in Massachusetts.
"Patriot 2.0 exposed the grave consequences of sanctuary policies and the urgent need for local leaders to prioritize their constituents' safety over politics," Lyons said in a press release, adding that "Local politicians are responsible for protecting their constituents, so they need to step up and end irresponsible sanctuary policies."
Border czar Tom Homan had previously warned that sanctuary cities would be targets.
"All these sanctuary cities that refuse to work with ICE, where we know public safety threats are being released every day into this country, especially those cities, we're going to address that," Homan said at the White House, according to Politico .
But Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said in September that ICE is not making the community safer.
"For months, ICE has refused to provide any information about their activities in Boston and refuses to issue warrants, while we hear reports of ICE agents taking parents as they are dropping their kids off at school. That does not make our community safer. We expect that federal law enforcement will abide by the constitution and laws of this city, commonwealth and country, and we are prepared to take legal action at any evidence to the contrary," Wu said in a statement.
And Gov. Maura Healey, who noted her experience as a prosecutor and the state's attorney general, also said last month that the surge of immigration enforcement was not actually aimed at making Massachusetts safer.
"What we have seen from ICE and from the administration really isn't about public safety, it's about political theater," Healey said. "It's about a political power grab and an attempt to intimidate."
ICE operations in Massachusetts have led to the arrest and detainment of civilians, not just criminals, Healey said.
"We've seen construction workers, nannies, landscapers, health care aids, these are the people who are being taken in these huge numbers, taken away from their families," she said. "When I have high school students being ripped off the streets in Massachusetts on their way to volleyball practice by ICE agents, something's wrong."
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