ICE Announces Mass Arrests in Sanctuary Metro Area After Mayor Doubled Down on Helping Illegals

Not even one of America’s most repellent mayors could prevent the good guys from earning a victory.

In a news release on Monday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that an “enhanced targeted enforcement operation” conducted last Tuesday through Sunday in Massachusetts, including the sanctuary city of Boston, had netted 370 arrests of illegal aliens.

Those arrests occurred in the wake of a defiant statement from woke Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu of Boston.

Before dwelling on the madness of sanctuary cities, one must first congratulate federal law enforcement officials on the arrests.

In fact, the extensive operation involved a multitude of federal agencies, including ICE, FBI, and DEA, as well as ATF, U.S. Marshals Service, and the Diplomatic Security Service. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts also aided in the operation.

ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde noted that agents focused on dangerous criminals, particularly in the Democrats’ beloved sanctuary city.

“Throughout this enhanced enforcement operation, we targeted the most dangerous alien offenders in some of the most crime-infested neighborhoods in and around Boston,” Hyde said.

Meanwhile, ICE Homeland Security Investigations New England Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol highlighted the inter-agency coordination.

“This week’s enhanced enforcement operations with our partners from the FBI, DEA, ATF, DSS and CBP prove that we are taking a whole of government approach to protecting our communities from foreign nationals involved in transnational gangs, drug traffickers, child predators, violent criminals and dangerous individuals living in New England,” Krol said.

“ICE will use every resource and authority we have to prioritize the safety and security of our communities,” he added.

Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division Jodi Cohen echoed those sentiments.

“There’s no question our communities are safer today because of this enhanced, targeted operation. FBI Boston, like all our federal partners, will continue to support ICE with these efforts,” Cohen said.

Of the 370 illegal aliens arrested, 205 “had significant criminal convictions or charges.”

Several of those aliens had either convictions or charges pending for crimes against children.

Those included, for instance, a “Honduran alien who illegally re-entered the U.S. after removal convicted of rape of a child, assault and battery of a person over 14 and failure to register as a sex offender, arrested in Salem” and a “Guatemalan alien charged with rape and convicted of enticing a minor under the age of 16, released by the New Bedford District Court without the ICE detainer being honored, arrested in New Bedford.”

Note the details: illegal re-entry in one case and a court’s failure to honor an ICE detainer in the other.

The Honduran alien who snuck back into the country did so with incredible brazenness. That sort of thing can only happen when international criminals do not respect the people enforcing U.S. laws.

Meanwhile, the court’s refusal to honor the ICE detainer on a Guatemalan alien also charged with rape highlights the madness of sanctuary policies.

And that brings us back to Wu.

In her State of the City address on Wednesday, the Democratic mayor made it clear that she prioritizes illegal aliens.

“You belong here,” she said, according to WFXT in Boston.

That assertion, of course, contradicted the policies of President Donald Trump’s administration.

“Last night, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu doubled down on giving sanctuary to violent criminal illegal immigrants,” a White House email read on Thursday.

“Why is Mayor Wu intent on defying the will of the American people and obstructing the Trump Administration’s efforts to remove these monsters from our streets?” the email added.

That kind of tension between Trump administration officials and sanctuary-city Democrats has existed for months.

Border czar Tom Homan, for instance, has long insisted that sanctuary-city policies endanger ICE agents’ lives.

No doubt both the tension and the danger will continue as long as sanctuary policies remain in place.

In the meantime, score one crucial victory for the good guys in Boston.

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Michael Schwarz holds a Ph.D. in History and has taught at multiple colleges and universities. He has published one book and numerous essays on Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Early U.S. Republic. He loves dogs, baseball, and freedom. After meandering spiritually through most of early adulthood, he has rediscovered his faith in midlife and is eager to continue learning about it from the great Christian thinkers.

Michael Schwarz holds a Ph.D. in History and has taught at multiple colleges and universities. He has published one book and numerous essays on Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Early U.S. Republic. He loves dogs, baseball, and freedom. After meandering spiritually through most of early adulthood, he has rediscovered his faith in midlife and is eager to continue learning about it from the great Christian thinkers.

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