US Attorney Claps Back at Boston Mayor for ‘Inflammatory Statements’ Made Against Immigration Agents
U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Leah Foley has fired back at Boston Mayor Michelle Wu after Wu called federal agents making immigration arrests “secret police.”
Recently, “Wu made reckless statements and inflammatory statements regarding enforcement efforts made by federal immigration authorities across the commonwealth,” Foley said.
In an interview at the WBUR Festival in Boston at the end of May, Wu said people in Massachusetts “are terrified for their lives and for their neighbors.” WBUR-FM is a public radio station operated by Boston University.
“Folks [are] getting snatched off the street by secret police who are wearing masks, who can offer no justification for why certain people are being taken and then detained,” Wu said.
Calling federal agents “secret police” is not only “offensive,” according to Foley, but also incorrect.
“There are no secret police. [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] agents, along with other federal law enforcement partners, are making immigration arrests. That is no secret,” the U.S. attorney said.
Foley, initially appointed by then-acting Attorney General James McHenry on Jan. 20, also pointed out that agents wear marked jackets and vests when they make arrests and are “masking the faces because people like Mayor Wu have created false narratives about their mission.”
The Massachusetts U.S. attorney says federal agents are hiding their faces because the agents and their families have received threats.
Trump administration border czar Tom Homan has stated repeatedly that he is prioritizing the arrest and deportation of criminal illegal aliens, but anyone in the country illegally is subject to arrest and removal.
Wu’s criticism of federal immigration enforcement efforts comes as ICE and federal authorities completed a months-long enforcement operation in Massachusetts in May that resulted in the apprehension of nearly 1,500 illegal aliens there. The operation focused on “transnational organized crime, gangs, and egregious illegal alien offenders throughout the commonwealth of Massachusetts,” according to ICE.
“Every enforcement action is conducted within the bounds of the Constitution and our laws, with oversight, legal justification, and accountability,” according to Foley. “To claim otherwise is a gross misrepresentation and a disservice to the public.”
“The U.S. attorney’s office stands in support of our federal law enforcement partners, whose mission it is to protect the residents of Massachusetts, regardless of the noise being generated by politicians, who either do not understand federal law or simply believe our nation’s immigration laws should not be enforced,” Foley said. “We will not apologize for doing our job.”