US immigration raids unfold in Boston as Trump signals crackdown in Chicago
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The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the anti-immigration operation at the weekend, dubbed Patriot 2.0, followed a similar sweep in May.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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Federal immigration agents conducted raids across Boston and nearby communities at the weekend, arresting dozens of people, according to a spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security.
The move came as the Justice Department filed suit against the city and its mayor, intensifying a clash over local sanctuary policies.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the operation, dubbed Patriot 2.0, followed a similar sweep in May.
The agency said those taken into custody included individuals accused of sexual assault, drug trafficking and gang activity who had been released from local jails despite federal requests to hold them.
Officials said Boston’s policies allowed dangerous offenders to remain in communities instead of being deported.
President Donald Trump, who has deployed National Guard troops and federal law enforcement officers to Washington, has also threatened repeatedly to send forces into Chicago to tackle crime there.
On Sept 6, the President posted a meme on Truth Social evoking the Vietnam War-themed movie Apocalypse Now with a caption that said, “I love the smell of deportations in the morning”, and saying Chicago is about to find out why he changed the name of the Department of Defence to the Department of War.
Illinois’ Democratic governor, Mr J.B. Pritzker, rejected Mr Trump’s threat, writing in a post on X that “Illinois won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator”.
Even so, organisers decided to postpone a major Mexican independence day festival amid fears over a potential immigration crackdown.
Two days before the raids in Massachusetts, the Justice Department sued Boston, Mayor Michelle Wu and the Boston Police Department, arguing the city’s sanctuary ordinances obstruct federal enforcement.
Attorney-General Pam Bondi called Boston “among the worst sanctuary offenders in America”.
Ms Wu pushed back, accusing the administration of political overreach.
“For months, the Trump Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have been spreading blatant lies and threatening to ‘bring hell’ to cities like Boston who refuse to bow down to their authoritarian agenda,” she said in a statement on Sept 6. BLOOMBERG
