Immigration Crackdown Intensifies In Boston Amid Trump's Operation For Sanctuary Cities
Immigrants are being detained while going to work, outside courthouses, and at store parking lots in Metro Boston as President Donald Trump targets so-called sanctuary cities in his effort to ramp up immigration enforcement.
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Immigrants are being detained while going to work, outside courthouses, and at store parking lots
Across Metro Boston, immigrants are being apprehended while heading to work, near courthouses, and in parking lots as President Donald Trump escalates immigration enforcement targeting so-called sanctuary cities.
As immigrant families remain confined to their homes—fearful of venturing out and risking detention—advocates report increasing sightings of unmarked US Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicles stationed throughout immigrant neighborhoods. Agents appear to be specifically targeting work vehicles. In one incident, a bystander recorded video footage of agents arresting three landscapers working at Saugus Town Hall after breaking their truck window.
Just outside Boston, Everett canceled its annual Hispanic Heritage Month celebration after the mayor determined it would be inappropriate to "hold a celebration at a time when community members may not feel safe attending."
Some officials have supported these actions, including New Hampshire Republican Governor Kelly Ayotte, who recently signed legislation prohibiting sanctuary city policies in her state, pledging that New Hampshire wouldn't "go the way of Massachusetts." ICE began utilizing a New Hampshire airport approximately an hour from Boston this summer to transport detainees from across New England.
However, many argue that ICE's increased presence in Massachusetts is creating more harm than benefit.
"This is really increasing the fear in communities, which is already incredibly high," said Elizabeth Sweet, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition.
Cities like Boston and Chicago—where Mayor Brandon Johnson has denounced the Trump administration's immigration crackdown as "tyranny"—have become recent enforcement targets. Trump also suggested potentially deploying the National Guard to Chicago, though he appeared uncertain about military deployment last week.
On September 4, the US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Mayor Michelle Wu, Boston, and its police department over sanctuary policies, claiming they interfere with immigration enforcement. Wu responded by accusing Trump of "attacking cities to hide his administration's failures."
ICE has now launched "Patriot 2.0," following a May operation that detained nearly 1,500 immigrants in Massachusetts. This latest initiative began days before a preliminary mayoral election that Wu won decisively. The mayor has faced criticism for defending the city's sanctuary policies, which limit cooperation between local police and federal immigration agents.
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated the Boston operation would target "the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens" in Massachusetts.
"Sanctuary policies like those pushed by Mayor Wu not only attract and harbor criminals but protect them at the peril of law-abiding American citizens," she said in a press release last week, which highlighted seven ICE arrests, including a 38-year-old Guatemalan man previously arrested on assault charges.
ICE did not respond to Associated Press requests regarding detention numbers since "Patriot 2.0" commenced.
The agency maintains detention contracts with multiple New England correctional facilities, including county jails, the federal prison in Berlin, New Hampshire, and a publicly-owned but privately operated prison in Central Falls, Rhode Island.
Volunteers monitoring detainee flights from Portsmouth International Airport in New Hampshire have documented over 300 transfers since early August, with at least five weekly flights moving people from across New England. David Holt, who organizes regular protests at the airport, reported that all detainees were shackled.
Protesters have gathered at locations including the ICE office in Burlington, where three participants were arrested for trespassing.
The Immigrant Justice Network of Massachusetts staffed its hotline with multilingual interpreters speaking English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Mandarin, and Haitian Creole to collect ICE sighting information. The organization sought additional volunteers fluent in Cape Verdean Kriolu, Nepali, and Vietnamese to handle increased calls.
Kevin Lam, co-executive director of the Asian American Resource Workshop, reported a "spike" in ICE activity, including five Vietnamese residents from Boston detained last week.
Advocates note that many immigrants express fear about routine activities like school pickup and using public transportation. Nevertheless, many continue working despite detention risks, especially those who are primary family providers.
"Many of them are like, 'Yeah, it is a risk every day when I step out, but I need to work to be able to provide for my family,'" Lam explained.
Republican Massachusetts US Attorney Leah Foley expressed "100% support" for ICE's latest operation and pledged her office would prosecute undocumented immigrants who commit crimes. Non-criminal immigrants have also been detained in what ICE terms "collateral arrests."
"We stand ready to charge individuals who violate all federal laws, including those who enter our country without authorization after being deported and those who assault federal law enforcement officers or impede or interfere with federal officers doing their jobs," she stated to the AP.
Advocates like Lam challenge claims that ICE targets only criminals, arguing that with reduced protections for asylum-seekers and legal residents, enforcement extends well beyond "bad immigrants" with records.
Alexandra Peredo Carroll, director of legal education and advocacy at Boston's Mabel Center for Immigrant Justice, said the Trump administration is "trying to fit folks into this narrative of being illegal or having broken the law, when in fact, many of these are individuals who are actually going through the legal process."
"I think you're going to see more and more how families are going to be torn apart, how individuals with no criminal history, with pending forms of relief, pending applications are just going to be rounded up," she warned.