BOSTON, MASS. – Fox News embedded exclusively with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the greater Boston area this week, where agents were carrying out the arrests of hundreds of egregious criminal migrants in what the agency said is the largest operation it has undertaken since President Donald Trump returned to office.
The sweeping operation, called “Patriot,” is expected to hit 1,500 arrests and is targeting migrants like a Salvadoran illegal migrant convicted of child rape who went to prison and was deported in 2017. He was nabbed by ICE living right next to a children’s playground.
ICE also swooped on another illegal migrant who is on El Salvador’s most wanted list and has an Interpol Red Notice for aggravated murder, aggravated kidnapping and robbery.
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Both arrests were captured exclusively on camera by Fox News.
ICE deployed 19 teams across Massachusetts this week and the agency brought in ICE teams from other parts of the country to assist.
It’s in direct response to Massachusetts and Boston’s sanctuary policies, where officials do not fully enforce or assist with federal immigration laws, as border czar Tom Homan has promised to surge ICE to these areas.
Fox News is told that about 70% of the arrests are criminals with convictions or pending charges.
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Patricia Hyde, the head of ICE Boston, said it’s not uncommon to have migrants convicted of child rape to be roaming public streets close to where children play.
“It’s not unusual. Due to the open border policies, we are finding that plenty of people who have been previously deported and committed heinous crimes and were removed from the country are now back here, just living among us,” Hyde said. “And now that’s our job to go round them up.”
Fox News also joined ICE as they arrested a Colombian illegal migrant facing pending charges for sexual assault of a child, as well as a Dominican illegal migrant with a drug trafficking conviction who is now facing local charges for fentanyl distribution.
Meanwhile, other arrests included a Guatemalan illegal migrant who’s facing charges in Massachusetts for aggravated child rape but was released from state custody. They also arrested Honduran alien, who’s facing local charges for rape and was also released from local custody.
ICE Boston told Fox News that local ICE activists have been interfering in their operations.
For instance, on Thursday, activists tried to grab onto a migrant who had been handcuffed by ICE, and in another incident, agents were stalking out a migrant murderer’s home and a crowd gathered and blew their cover.
Hyde said sanctuary jurisdictions are starting to escalate against ICE.
“I think the lack of cooperation is getting worse and worse and it’s putting law enforcement lives in danger,” Hyde said.
Hyde said that ICE agents will continue to round up dangerous criminal illegal migrants, despite pushback from local lawmakers and activists.
“We’re not going away. It might take us longer. It might be harder, but we’re not going away, we’re here,” Hyde said. “We know what the American people voted for. We understand that we work for the American people and we’re going to be here until we send everyone home.”
