Dem governor backs ICE arresting 'criminals' despite vowing to use 'every tool' against Trump deportations
The Democratic governor of Massachusetts signaled her support for arresting criminal illegal immigrants, saying she supports "the apprehension of criminals in our communities"
Gov. Maura Healey told reporters on Thursday that she supports arresting criminals, regardless of whether they are undocumented or not, according to local news outlet WCVB.
Fox News witnessed ICE Boston making eight arrests this week, including multiple MS-13 members, Interpol Red Notices, murder and rape suspects, and a volatile Haitian gang member with 18 convictions in recent years who shouted that he "ain’t going back to Haiti" and "F--- Trump, Biden forever!"
The arrests come as the Trump administration moves rapidly to fulfill its promise to launch a historic mass deportation operation, which it has said will focus primarily – but not exclusively – on public safety threats.
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Addressing the arrests, Healey said she "wouldn't describe them as raids," but instead, "what it seems to be, and what we expected and what I support, which is the apprehension of criminals in our communities."
"Whether you’re documented or undocumented, you commit crimes, you’re subject to investigation and prosecution and accountability, and it looks like that is what happened," Healey said, according to Fox local outlet, Boston 25.
Healey, who previously vowed to resist Trump’s deportation efforts in November, noted that Massachusetts is not a sanctuary state, despite a 2017 ruling by the state Supreme Judicial Court that severely limits law enforcement cooperation with ICE.
Healey said in November that her state police will "absolutely not" be cooperating with Trump's mass deportation efforts, warning that she will use "every tool in the toolbox" to "protect" residents in the blue state.
"I still remain opposed on efforts to target large swaths of an undocumented population who've done nothing wrong other than they're here without lawful presence," she said.
Healey has taken a slightly more centrist position on immigration enforcement in recent months.
After an illegal migrant was caught using the state’s migrant shelter system for illegal activity, Healey said she was "outraged," She ordered a full inspection of the system and sent a letter to Massachusetts legislative leaders, urging them to amend the state’s "right to shelter" laws to exclude illegal immigrants.
At the time, she commented that Trump now has the opportunity to fix the border and said, "I hope he does."
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Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, however, continues to staunchly oppose the Trump administration’s crackdown.
She has taken to social media several times this week to express her anger over Trump’s immigration decisions, saying in one X post that "State & local law enforcement cannot be commandeered for federal immigration enforcement. Despite what President Trump may think, he doesn't have the authority to unilaterally rewrite our Constitution."
"State AGs won't hesitate to respond if his threats become illegal actions," she said.
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Meanwhile, Republican state Representatives Michael Soter and Kenneth Sweezey introduced a bill on Friday, titled "An Act to promote and protect safety in the Commonwealth," which would empower local and state law enforcement to more fully cooperate with ICE.
"The immigration issue in Massachusetts has gotten completely out of control," Sweezey said in a statement sent to Fox News Digital. "This piece of legislation is a very simple, common-sense first step in rectifying part of the issue."
Bill Melugin, Stephen Sorace and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.