The arrests were part of an operation called “Patriot.”

On Monday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that authorities arrested 1,461 undocumented immigrants in Massachusetts during May as part of a law enforcement operation focused on “transnational organized crime and gangs.”

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“Today, we announce the arrest of nearly 1,500 illegal aliens in the past 30 days. In doing so, we reaffirm our commitment to ensuring the public and national security of our communities,” said ICE Director Todd Lyons.

Patricia Hyde, acting director of the Boston Field Office for Enforcement and Removal Operations, stated that the majority of those arrested had criminal histories in the U.S. or abroad. She added that among those detained were “murderers, rapists, drug traffickers, child sexual predators, and members of violent transnational criminal gangs,” all of whom were also in violation of U.S. immigration laws.

Authorities said they plan to deport all those arrested. The arrests were part of an operation called “Patriot,” and officials noted that immigration judges had previously ordered the removal of 277 individuals.

Lyons said agents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will continue “fighting criminals and transnational organizations that poison our communities, exploit our children, and turn them into victims.”

The announcement comes two days after immigration authorities detained an 18-year-old Massachusetts resident identified as Marcelo Gomes. According to his family, he emigrated from Brazil to the U.S. when he was five years old.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has demanded that the federal government provide information about Gomes’ whereabouts. The arrests also come just days after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a temporary order by a federal judge who ruled that the Biden administration (2021–2025) could not revoke the so-called humanitarian parole program.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

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