ICE conducts largest immigration raid to date: 1,500 illegal migrants arrested in Massachusetts
According to agency sources, 790 of those arrested had criminal convictions or charges, and 277 had final orders of removal or deportation but were protected by sanctuary policies.
ICE agents detain an illegal immigrant.
Immigration enforcement authorities concluded their largest roundup of illegal immigrants to date in Massachusetts on Tuesday. ICE's Operation Patriot has arrested nearly 1,500 individuals with irregular migration status in the Boston area.
According to an ICE statement, the arrests made in the city of Boston, a declared sanctuary for immigrants, included alleged murderers, rapists, drug traffickers and child sexual predators.
In that operation, ICE obtained the collaboration of other agencies such as U.S. Customs and Border Protection, ATF, FBI, DEA and Diplomatic Security Service.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement sources told Fox News that 790 of the detainees had criminal convictions or charges, and another 277 had final orders of removal or deportation. The sources stated that all of the targeted offenders roamed freely on the streets of Massachusetts cities before being detained.
Those arrested included citizens of Guatemala, Brazil, Uruguay, Ecuador, Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras and Mexico, among others.
"The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a safer place today thanks to the hard work and determination of the men and women of ICE and our federal partners. Working together, we were able to arrest almost 1,500 illegal aliens throughout the Commonwealth, most of whom had significant criminality in the United States or abroad," Patricia H. Hyde, head of ICE in the Boston area, said in a statement.
According to ICE sources consulted by Fox, "hundreds" of those arrested had been released by local sanctuary jurisdictions with ignored ICE detainers. ICE also said it encountered daily interference from anti-ICE activist groups throughout Massachusetts.
U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Leah B. Foley also warned illegal immigrants on Monday.
"When someone who is here illegally chooses to engage in crime, when they bring fentanyl into our neighborhoods, sell firearms to gangs, or assume false identities to collect benefits intended for vulnerable Americans, these are not immigrants, these are criminals," Foley said.
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