Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) just finished a major operation called Operation Patriot in Massachusetts. It’s being called the biggest ICE operation ever. Over the course of the month-long effort, ICE arrested 1,461 people who were in the country illegally, many of whom had serious criminal records. These included murderers, rapists, drug dealers, and people who had sexually abused children.
Most of the arrests happened in and around Boston and other parts of Massachusetts. The state is known for having many “sanctuary” cities and counties. These are places that limit how much local police can work with immigration officials. That means ICE often gets no help from local governments when trying to arrest people who are in the U.S. illegally, even if they’ve committed crimes.
ICE sources told Fox News that 790 of those arrested had criminal charges or convictions, and 277 had already been ordered to leave the country but hadn’t gone. They said all these people were living freely in cities across Massachusetts before ICE agents found and arrested them.
Operation Patriot involved help from federal agencies like the FBI, DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), and ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives), along with ICE teams from nearby states. The operation lasted through May.
One day during the operation, Fox News reporters rode along with ICE agents in Boston. In just a few hours, the agents arrested a murderer, two people who had raped children (one of whom lived near a playground), a fentanyl trafficker, a rapist, and a person who had sexually assaulted a child.
Before this, the largest ICE operation was in Florida in something called Operation Tidal Wave, which had led to 1,120 arrests. ICE agents said this new operation in Massachusetts was harder because, unlike in Florida, they didn’t get any help from local police or city governments.
They also said that many of the people arrested had been let go from local jails, even though ICE had asked for them to be held. These requests, called ICE detainers, were ignored because of the state’s sanctuary policies. ICE also said they ran into resistance from anti-ICE activist groups almost every day.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, a Democrat, reacted strongly. She posted online that she was “disturbed and outraged” after ICE arrested an 18-year-old high school student named Marcelo Gomes. He was undocumented and a student at Milford High School. Healey said she wanted answers immediately about why he was taken into custody.
She also criticized the Trump administration, saying it was creating fear and making communities less safe.
In a press conference on Monday, ICE’s acting director Todd Lyons responded to this backlash. He said if sanctuary cities would simply hand over dangerous criminals to ICE, agents wouldn’t need to go out into neighborhoods to arrest them. Lyons said ICE will keep coming back to Massachusetts if needed, to keep communities safe from sex offenders and other criminals.
That same day, a man named Lorenzo Lopez Alcario, who is also in the country illegally, was charged with raping a child in Massachusetts. According to court documents, the child had been tied up during the assault.
Commenting on the case and Operation Patriot, Jon Fetherston, a former migrant shelter director in the state, criticized Governor Healey. He said her refusal to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement is making things unsafe for everyone, not just ICE agents. He said her policies are creating a situation where even convicted criminals are protected from being deported.
