‘Refuse to cooperate’: Border czar Tom Homan says he traveled to Boston to oversee 370 ICE arrests

BOSTON — Border czar Tom Homan has had enough.

Homan, who said he is fed up with Boston and other Massachusetts communities not complying with federal authorities who are trying to apprehend hard criminals who are in the country illegally, traveled to Boston recently to oversee a federal law enforcement operation over several days.

During the six-day enhanced operation, ICE and federal law enforcement partners targeted transnational criminal organizations known to operate in and around Boston and throughout Massachusetts, federal officials said. These organizations include the notorious MS-13, Tren de Aragua, Trinitarios, and 18th Street gangs.

“I made a promise at CPAC that I was going to Boston after reading about numerous illegal alien child rapists walking the streets of Boston and Massachusetts,” Homan said in a post on X on Monday morning.

“ICE had to find and arrest these illegal alien rapists because Massachusetts and Boston are sanctuaries that refuse to cooperate with ICE,” Homan said. “They would rather release these animals back into the community rather than honor ICE detainers or notify ICE when they are scheduled to be released.”

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“Mayor Wu later testified that I was lying,” Homan said in his post of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who testified before Congress with other mayors on March 5 about Boston’s sanctuary city policies. Wu hired a Boston law firm to prepare for the congressional hearing.

“Well, I traveled to Boston last Tuesday, as promised, and we kicked off a five day operation with ICE, FBI, ATF, DEA, US Marshals and DSS,” Homan said. “These incredible men and women arrested a total of 370 Illegal aliens in Boston and surrounding areas. A majority of the 370 being significant criminals.”

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Homan’s statement on Monday calling out Bay State leaders comes one day after Wu pushed back at federal authorities, days after Homeland Security released a video criticizing Boston’s handling of ICE operations.

“This narrative that cities, where more immigrants live, are less safe is just simply not true,” Wu told Boston 25 Sunday.

During her State of the City speech last week, Wu said, “Boston is proud to be the safest major city in the country, and we work with all levels of law enforcement every day to prevent crime and hold perpetrators accountable.”

ICE agents have recently been spotted making arrests in Boston, East Boston, Chelsea, and other Massachusetts communities.

La Colaborativa, a community group in Chelsea, warned of the ICE arrests on social media and subsequently shut down its main office for the day, officials said, so that visitors going to La Colaborativa would not be “targeted” be federal officers.

“This has been an immensely difficult day for our community in Chelsea,” Alex Train, Chief Operating Officer at La Colaborativa, said on Tuesday. “Immigration and Customs Enforcement orchestrated what turned out to be the largest raid over the last decade in Chelsea.”

Wu added on Sunday, “Our city is the safest major city in the country because we are safe for everyone, and because we collaborate every day with the federal government.”

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On Monday, Homan said the 370 illegal aliens arrested in Massachusetts during the federal investigation included six foreign fugitives, of which four “who were wanted for murder or to serve a criminal sentence for murder, along with drug traffickers, child sexual predators and numerous other violent public safety threats.”

“These officers and agents made the neighborhoods of Boston and Massachusetts much safer,” Homan said. “They risked their own safety by arresting these criminals on the street, rather than a jail.”

Federal officials said those arrested during the enhanced targeted operation include:

• A Dominican alien who illegally re-entered the U.S. after removal charged with multiple drug distribution crimes, arrested in Boston.
• A Dominican alien who illegally re-entered the U.S. after removal charged with trafficking fentanyl, arrested in Boston.
• A Chilean alien convicted of 4 counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 years old, arrested in Marlborough.
• A Brazilian alien charged with manslaughter, homicide by a motor vehicle, homicide while under the influence of liquor, breaking and entering in the nighttime with intent to commit a crime, and larceny, arrested in Worcester.
• 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.
• A Brazilian alien wanted for murder and convicted for firearms trafficking in his native country, arrested in Milford.
• A Brazilian alien wanted for homicide in in his home country, arrested in Lowell.
• A Russian alien charged with unlawful possession of ammunition and wanted in his native country for armed robbery and membership in a criminal organization, arrested in Medford.
• A Dominican alien wanted for homicide in his native country, arrested in Dorchester.
• A Brazilian alien wanted in his native county for failure to serve a sentence after his convictions for homicide and illegal possession of a firearm arrested in Marlborough.
• A Salvadoran alien previously deported from the U.S. and documented 18th Street gang member convicted of assault and battery and sentenced to two and a half years committed arrested in Wakefield.
• 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.
• A Jamaican alien previously deported from the U.S. convicted of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, armed robbery, possession of a firearm, and assault arrested in Pittsfield.
• A Brazilian alien wanted for in his native country for drug trafficking, money laundering, membership in a criminal organization arrested in West Yarmouth.

Investigators also seized approximately 44 kilograms of methamphetamines, 5 kilograms of fentanyl, 1.2 kilograms of cocaine, three firearms and ammunition during the operation.

Homan’s strong words come after numerous cases of Massachusetts courts ignoring federal immigration detainers for foreign nationals who are accused of committing crimes in this country, and releasing them on bail.

Last month, federal authorities said they arrested a Brazilian national and gang member convicted of assault, after a Massachusetts court ignored the ICE immigration detainer.

In another case, federal authorities said that a Massachusetts court twice ignored an immigration detainer lodged by ICE and twice released a Guatemalan national convicted of assault and other crimes in the Bay State.

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Court officials do not have the authority to hold an individual in custody solely on the basis of a Federal Civil Immigration Detainer, Jennifer Donahue, spokesperson for the Massachusetts Trial Courts, has repeatedly said in statements regarding the matter.

“In order to comply with Massachusetts law, court officers are prohibited from assisting or interfering with ICE agents in executing their obligations under Federal law,” Donahue has said.

“That means that a court officer will not interfere with ICE arresting an individual who has been released,” Donahue said. “On the other hand, court officers are prohibited from keeping a released individual in custody awaiting an ICE agent.”

Homan, in his post on Monday, had some strong words for Gov. Maura Healey and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.

“Governor Healy and Mayor Wu should be ashamed of supporting sanctuary policies. Releasing public safety threats back into the public, rather than working with ICE at the jails, puts the public at great risk,” Homan said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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