Anti-'sanctuary' policy campaign has impact

By Philip Marcelo
Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — Federal immigration officials in Massachusetts say a newly launched campaign to alert the public of immigrants living in the country illegally who have been released by local officials under “sanctuary” policies is having an impact.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Boston office said late Wednesday it arrested two men — one from Cape Verde and another from Colombia — who had been released by state court officials while their criminal cases are pending.

The two men were among five people whose names, photos and criminal histories the agency released on Friday in an informational flyer akin to the FBI’s “most wanted” fugitive lists.

ICE has since added three more so-called “immigration fugitives” to the list, which also cites the local law enforcement agency that it says released the individual.

Todd Lyons, who heads ICE’s Boston office, said the agency — along with other regional ICE offices around the country — will be regularly releasing the information as a way to call attention to local policies that make immigration enforcement challenging.

In Massachusetts, he cited a 2017 state Supreme Judicial Court ruling that determined local law enforcement officials don’t have to authority under state law to hold an individual solely on the basis of a federal civil immigration detainer, which is an administrative tool used by ICE to begin the deportation process.

“The politicization of law enforcement at any level whether it be federal, state, or local does not make anyone safer,” Lyons said in a statement announcing the new campaign Friday.

The agency said Wednesday that the Brockton District Court had denied its immigration detainer for the Cape Verdean man, who it said faces several charges of driving under the influence, assault with a dangerous weapon and threatening to bomb or hijack.

It also said the Chelsea District Court had denied its detainer request for the Colombian man, who ICE said faces assault with intent to rape and indecent assault and battery.

Boston is among a handful of cities, including San Francisco, New York and Chicago, where U.S. Customs and Border Protection tactical units are being deployed in the coming weeks to enhance ICE’s efforts in places where “sanctuary” policies provide protections for certain immigrants living in the country illegally.