Donald Trump’s crackdown on unlawful immigrant criminals is in full swing days into his presidency, with a few of his high officers celebrating not less than eight arrests made thus far within the Boston space.
Vice President JD Vance stated he’s “glad” {that a} Haitian gang member who advised brokers “(expletive) Trump, Biden forever!” is likely one of the unlawful immigrants being deported.
Fox Information, embedded with Boston-based members of ICE’s Enforcement and Elimination Operations throughout the company’s first raid throughout the area below the Trump administration, reported the Haitian had not less than 17 felony convictions.
“An illegal alien with 17 criminal convictions really hates President Trump for sending him back to Haiti,” Vance stated in an X publish on Thursday. “He’s grateful to Biden for letting him come here. I’m glad we’re deporting him. Do you agree or would you like him as your neighbor?”
Elon Musk, heading Trump’s Division of Authorities Effectivity, responded: “Wow,” whereas Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reacted in a separate publish: “Bye bye!,” with a waving hand emoji.
ICE additionally reportedly swept up a number of MS-13 gang members and homicide and rape suspects throughout Wednesday’s raid. Officers additionally made not less than one “collateral” arrest of an unlawful immigrant who they didn’t initially goal till they apprehended an MS-13 gang member on the identical Boston dwelling, Fox Information correspondent Invoice Melugian reported.
At the least two of the arrested unlawful immigrants had been launched from custody beforehand below sanctuary metropolis insurance policies, ERO Boston advised Melugian.
Melugian reported Thursday that after his experience alongside, ICE officers arrested two extra targets: “A Haitian who flew into the US in 2023 as part of Biden’s migrant flights program (and) is now charged (with) sexual assault, (and) a previously deported Honduran illegal alien charged with raping a victim while holding a gun in her mouth.”
Native tv information retailers WCVB and NBC 10 Boston reported they noticed federal brokers making arrests in East Boston and a Chelsea Market Basket car parking zone on Wednesday. No additional reviews surfaced Thursday.
Chelsea Metropolis Councilor Todd Taylor advised the Herald on Thursday that he anticipated raids to begin regionally as quickly as Trump regained workplace, with border czar Tom Homan declaring sanctuary cities can be a high goal.
“We are getting rid of dangerous people out of our mix,” Taylor, the lone Republican on the Metropolis Council, stated in a cellphone interview. “That, I think, everybody should stand up and applaud. For anyone clutching their pearls about this, you need to think twice.”
Annie Gonzalez, a volunteer with the Boston Immigration Justice Accompaniment Community, advised the Herald that she views the preliminary raids as a “clear example” of how the Trump administration “thrives off fear.”
“They sent ICE agents, with Fox News following along to get footage, to arrest specific individuals who have the types of charges that make good headlines for their propaganda,” she stated. “This outrageous use of taxpayer dollars creates understandable fear in the immigrant community and also stokes unfounded fear in the general public.
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell issued a joint statement with counterparts from 10 other states on Thursday that “state and local law enforcement cannot be commandeered for federal immigration enforcement.”
A Justice Division memo circulated Wednesday indicated higher-ups had ordered federal prosecutors to research state and native officers and legal guidelines that “threaten to impede” the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.
“Despite what he may say to the contrary, the President cannot unilaterally re-write the Constitution,” the assertion reads.
Malden Police Chief Glenn T. Cronin issued a group assertion outlining a 2017 ruling from the state Supreme Judicial Courtroom that native regulation enforcement isn’t licensed to detain people based mostly on federal immigration detainer requests.
“This means that we will not take individuals into custody simply because of their immigration status,” Cronin wrote. “At the same time, it is essential to emphasize that when a serious crime is committed, we are bound by law to take appropriate action.”
Some college superintendents are attempting to reassure involved mother and father that their districts are following pointers that they are saying purpose to guard immigrant households together with not coordinating with ICE and never admitting brokers into colleges.
In Windfall, the FBI raided immigration lawyer Joseph Molina Flynn’s downtown workplaces on Thursday, information retailers reported. FBI representatives confirmed that the company served a court-authorized search warrant there however didn’t touch upon specifics, in line with reviews.
The raid prompted Molina Flynn to resign from serving as a decide at Central Falls Municipal Courtroom, the reviews added.
“ICE raids create fear and distrust for not only immigrants,” Larger Boston-based immigration lawyer Bianca Jordan advised the Herald, “but their friends, families, and neighbors, which includes U.S. citizens and legal residents. Instead of these fear-based tactics, we should focus on fixing our immigration system to allow people to seek legal status with dignity and respect.
Through the first three days of the Trump administration, the number of Border Patrol encounters at the southern border is 35% lower than the final three days of the Biden administration, Department of Homeland Security sources told Fox News Digital.
Contrary to what she said on national TV in November, Bay State Gov. Maura Healey told reporters Wednesday that she plans to cooperate with federal immigration officials. But conservative critics aren’t buying her shift in tone.
“Healey is giving lip service that she won’t stand in the way of ICE,” Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance spokesman Paul Diego Craney advised the Herald Thursday. “However, look at her actions, she’s making (illegal immigrant criminals) comfortable. For a lot of taxpayers, they have a giant sigh of relief that some people in our government, on the federal side, are taking our immigration laws seriously.”
