Last month, President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said he was “coming to Boston and bringing hell with him.”
On Monday came news that “hell” had rained down on 370 illegal immigrants in and around the Greater Boston area.
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and federal law enforcement partners apprehended 370 illegal aliens in Massachusetts during an enhanced targeted enforcement operation focusing on transnational organized crime, gangs, and egregious illegal alien offenders March 18-23,” the agency announced.
Among those apprehended were members of MS-13, Tren de Aragua, Trinitarios, and 18th Street gangs, according to ICE.
The news follows weeks of reports of alleged criminals — many of them charged with rape and other sex assault charges — rounded up by ICE after Massachusetts courts ignored their requests to detain the illegal aliens until federal immigration officers could take them into custody.
In a social media post, Homan celebrated the agency’s successful efforts and called out Massachusetts politicians who oppose increased immigration enforcement. He singled out Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who recently testified before Congress, claiming allegations that Massachusetts allowed violent illegal immigrant offenders to roam free were untrue.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and federal law enforcement partners apprehended 370 illegal aliens in Massachusetts during an enhanced targeted enforcement operation focusing on transnational organized crime, gangs, and egregious illegal alien offenders March 18-23.
(Courtesy: EROBoston)
“I made a promise that I was going to Boston after reading about numerous illegal alien child rapists walking the streets of Boston and Massachusetts,” Homan wrote. “ICE had to find and arrest these illegal alien rapists because Massachusetts and Boston are sanctuaries that refuse to cooperate with ICE.
“Mayor Wu later testified that I was lying. Well, I traveled to Boston last Tuesday, as promised, and we kicked off a five-day operation. These incredible men and women arrested a total of 370 illegal aliens in Boston and surrounding areas.”
The raids netted alleged murderers, drug traffickers, child sexual predators, and gang members in Massachusetts, but they also served as a reminder why New Hampshire needs to ban so-called “sanctuary cities” on its side of the state line, said Gov. Kelly Ayotte.
“Massachusetts letting dangerous criminals back out onto the streets puts everyone in our region at risk,” Ayotte told NHJournal. “In New Hampshire, we’re doing things differently — our state troopers will cooperate with our federal partners to get criminals off our streets, and next, we will ban sanctuary cities to stop this insanity from spilling over into our state.”
Homan praised the immigration enforcement agents who participated in the enhanced enforcement operation.
“They risked their own safety by arresting these criminals on the street, rather than in a jail,” Homan said, a subtle reference to the pattern of local Massachusetts courts springing charged illegal aliens loose rather than complying with detainer requests. “(Massachusetts) Gov. Healey 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’s sweep coincided with Wu’s annual state-of-the-city address last Wednesday. In her remarks, Wu vowed to continue resisting efforts by the feds to enforce federal immigration laws in Boston.
“Two weeks ago, I went down to D.C. because Congress had some questions about how we do things here in Boston,” Wu said. “It might have been my voice speaking into the microphone that day, but it was 700,000 voices that gave Congress their answer: This is our city.”
According to the Boston Herald, Wu spent $650,000 in city taxpayer dollars preparing for her congressional testimony, which included opening remarks comparing the city’s makeup of illegal aliens to the nationalities represented by members of the Boston Red Sox.
Meanwhile, illegal immigration continues to remain a top issue for New Hampshire voters. A 2024 University of New Hampshire found 83 percent of Granite Staters agree illegal immigration is a serious problem.
A year ago, House Democratic lawmakers unanimously voted against a GOP proposal to enact a statewide ban on local “sanctuary” immigration ordinances barring law enforcement from working with federal authorities. In November, voters delivered Granite State Republicans bigger majorities in both chambers and installed another Republican in the Corner Office.
Last month, Democrats completed a full reversal as a revived proposal for a sanctuary policy ban sailed through the House 351-6. The Senate, however, was a different story as Democrats unanimously opposed identical legislation passed 15-8 by their Republican counterparts.
State Sen. Victoria Sullivan (R-Manchester), one of many GOP upstarts who succeeded in knocking out a Democrat last November, cautioned that a large percentage of her progressive peers are still standing in the way of illegal immigration enforcement — especially in her Queen City hometown. She recently shared a photo on social media of Democratic U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas standing alongside several state Senate Democrats and a sign reading “Manchester is a Welcoming City.”
“Republicans in the House and Senate have taken a strong stand against this,” Sullivan wrote in a follow-up post. “Gov. Ayotte will sign protections for our citizens and our borders into law.
“There will be no sanctuary for people who seek to harm Granite State children.”
