BOSTON — Many politicians and high-ranking officials in Boston are criticizing President Donald Trump’s decision to send in ICE officials to arrest undocumented immigrants. Boston is one of several major sanctuary cities in the U.S. that will be targeted by those elite tactical agents, some of whom are coming up from the border.
“I reject it on the strongest possible terms and will do everything I can to fight back against it,” said Congressman Joe Kennedy (D) of Massachusetts.
Congressman Kennedy spoke Saturday, coming out against the Trump Administration’s decision to step up immigration enforcement in Boston.
Agents from a Border Patrol unit are expected to come to Massachusetts as part of a nation-wide crackdown on sanctuary cities.
“This administration believes that you need elite border patrol troops to come in and try to make our community safe,” Rep. Kennedy said. “Nothing could be further from the truth. I think it’s a terrible decision.”
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According to Customs and Border Protection, Boston has been releasing illegal immigrants from jail, before ICE can come and take them into custody. In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said in part:
“When law enforcement agencies fail to honor immigration detainers and release serious criminal offenders onto the streets, it undermines ICE’s ability to protect public safety and carry out its mission.”
Still, many in Boston disagree, including Mayor Marty Walsh and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, who says where the administration chooses cruelty, the city of Boston will choose compassion. Senator Ed Markey told Boston 25 News that he finds the move divisive.
“This is just a racist action by Donald Trump. He wants to make America Great Again by making America hate again,” Sen. Markey said. “He wants immigrant families to live in fear that there could be a knock on the door in the middle of the night.”