According to DHS, the Trump administration has begun a new federal immigration enforcement campaign in Massachusetts with the goal of deporting illegal immigrants who have committed crimes while in the US.
After the success of Operation Patriot in May, ICE initiated ‘Patriot 2.0’ to target the most dangerous illegal aliens residing in Massachusetts, according to a DHS spokesman who talked to HEADLINESFOREVER on Sunday.
It said that sanctuary city policies “not only attract and harbor criminals but also place these public safety threats above the interests of law-abiding American citizens,” and it blamed Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu of Boston for this. The statement also promised that DHS will arrest any criminals released by local authorities.
Criminal illegal immigrants will not find sanctuary anywhere under the Trump administration or Secretary Noem. “We will pursue, apprehend, and expel you from our land if you enter our nation unlawfully and violate our laws,” the message went on to say.
Wu stated in an interview with HEADLINESFOREVER on Sunday that the federal government’s activities do “not make our community safer” and that no local resources would be utilized for this operation.
Wu made it clear that neither the Boston Police Department nor any of the city’s other resources will be used for the federal government’s mass deportation program. Our community will not be safer as a result of it. We are ready to pursue legal action in the event that federal law enforcement does not comply with the constitution and laws of this City, Commonwealth, and country.
Wu was earlier this month sued by the Justice Department for her role in implementing Boston’s sanctuary policy, which restricts the ability of local police to collaborate with federal immigration activities.
“The actions taken by the government and ICE are more concerned with political posturing than with ensuring the safety of the people. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey told MSNBC on Sunday that it was all about a political power grab and an effort to intimidate.
According to White House sources who spoke with HEADLINESFOREVER, the operation in Boston is a precursor to the administration’s impending crackdown on sanctuary cities in the next months, since it coincides with immigration plans in Chicago.
The June immigration arrests in Los Angeles are serving as a template for the operations in Chicago and Boston. According to authorities, the president has the authority to deploy the National Guard to either city in the event that a peacekeeping force is eventually required.
Earlier this month, HEADLINESFOREVER cited two persons familiar with the matter as saying that members of the Trump administration had planned a large-scale immigration enforcement operation in Boston sometime in the next few weeks.
Following the Trump administration’s adoption of harsh enforcement measures in Los Angeles earlier this year, these steps to increase deportations in cities headed by Democrats follow. Since June, the police in the city in Southern California have made 5,000 arrests, according to an announcement made this week.
Josh Kraft, the son of Robert Kraft—the owner of the New England Patriots—will be Wu’s main opponent on Tuesday. Domingos DaRosa, a community activist, and Robert Cappucci, a former Boston police officer, are also candidates.
Despite the position’s formal nonpartisan status, both Wu and Kraft identify as Democrats. The candidates compete on the same primary ballot, with the top two finishers moving on to the general election in November.