WORCESTER (WHDH) — Officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 50 people throughout Massachusetts in a four-day raid and some local lawmakers are disappointed.
ICE said of the 50 arrests made, 20 were not criminals. The agency did not give many details but said one arrest happened in Boston after a person failed to register as a sex offender.
At an event in Worcester, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said ICE is targeting sanctuary cities and accused them of unfairly focusing on Massachusetts.
“It’s a case of going after the cities in the one state that have not bowed to the will of the Trump administration’s immigrant policy,” said Warren. “And I think that’s fundamentally wrong.”
A spokesperson for ICE said anybody in violation of any immigration law could be arrested. “The targets in Massachusetts were criminal aliens, those who were fugitives or those who illegally re-entered the U.S.,” ICE said in a statement. ICE said their officers did not target anyone protected under DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Gov. Charlie Baker (R-Mass.) said he believes ICE should instead focus on arresting violent offenders.
“I think ICE ought to focus on the kinds of folks that we’ve been focusing on, which are violent, dangerous criminals who’ve been convicted of significant crimes,” said Baker.
(Copyright (c) 2024 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)