US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) concluded its largest operation on Saturday, resulting in the arrest of nearly 1,500 illegal immigrants across Massachusetts, including the Greater Boston area.
The effort, dubbed Operation Patriot, resulted in the apprehension of 1,461 illegal immigrants. According to a report from Fox News, ICE confirmed that 790 of those arrested had prior criminal convictions or pending charges, including for crimes such as murder, rape, and drug trafficking. An additional 277 individuals had already received final removal orders but had remained in the US.
ICE said many of the illegal immigrants apprehended were freely roaming public areas before the arrests. The agency coordinated with multiple federal partners, including the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and also received support from ICE teams in other states.
Operation Patriot surpassed the previous record set by Operation Tidal Wave in Florida, which had resulted in 1,120 arrests. ICE officials said the Massachusetts operation was more challenging due to the state’s sanctuary policies, which limit cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.
ICE Director Todd Lyons directly addressed the lack of state cooperation during a press conference on Monday:
“If sanctuary cities would change their policies and turn these violent criminal aliens over to us into our custody instead of releasing them into the public, we would not have to go out to the communities and do this,” Lyons said. He also added that the operation “just showed we need to come back and we’re going to keep coming back because ICE is going to make sure that we keep our community safe and keep our neighborhood safe from these sex offenders and these criminal aliens.”
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey expressed strong opposition to the ICE operation, especially after it was revealed that among those arrested was an 18-year-old illegal immigrant who is reportedly a junior in High School. In a statement on social media, Healey said she was “disturbed and outraged,” and claimed that “the Trump Administration continues to create fear in our communities, and it’s making us all less safe.”
