Mass. mayors and officials issue statement on ICE actions in communities

Reacting to federal immigration enforcement actions in their communities, leaders from 13 cities and one town issued a joint statement on June 13 calling on the U.S. Attorney’s Office to investigate the activity of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The mayors and municipal managers, including Michelle Wu of Boston and Joseph Petty of Worcester, said enforcement actions are having the effect of “jeopardizing public safety,” and they’re asking the U.S. Attorney’s Office to look into constitutional violations and to ensure that ICE “makes public their policies regarding how individuals are targeted, due process, and use of force.”

“ICE has stated that they are prioritizing the removal of people who pose a threat to public safety,” the statement says. “However, increasingly, ICE is arresting bystanders with no criminal record and removing so-called ‘collaterals’ without regard to the impact on our communities.”

The statement alleges examples including the following:
• ICE agents have detained residents because they looked like someone who could or “should” be detained, raising questions of whether ICE is engaging in racial profiling.
• ICE comes into communities at times without notice, detains individuals, and then sends them to another jurisdiction without providing any information.
• ICE agents are breaking into vehicles without a judicial warrant.

“Our residents are impacted deeply by these actions,” the statement says. “Families are frightened to leave their homes to go to school, medical appointments, workplaces, or church. These actions are fomenting distrust between residents and local law enforcement officials, which further erodes public safety and destabilizes our communities.

“These actions and some accompanying statements conflating all immigrants with violent criminals stigmatize an entire group of people based on ethnicity, race, or origin, putting them and others at increasing risk of harm or possibly the violation of their rights.”

The local leaders say ICE actions are leading to an increase in demonstrations and protests in communities, and urge the public to “peacefully exercise their freedom of speech and to respect the role of law enforcement in maintaining public order.”

In addition to Wu and Perry, the statement was signed by City Manager Yi-An Huang of Cambridge, City Manager Fidel Maltez of Chelsea, Mayor Carlo DeMaria of Everett, Mayor Jared Nicholson of Lynn, Mayor Gary Christenson of Malden, Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn of Medford, Mayor Jen Grigoraitis of Melrose, Mayor Ruthanne Fuller of Newton, Mayor Patrick Keefe of Revere, Mayor Dominick Pangallo of Salem, Mayor Katjana Ballantyne of Somerville, and Brookline Town Administrator Charles Carey.

The sentiments of the joint statement have been echoed in other communities, such as this official statement from the Select Board in Falmouth.

Also on June 13, Mayor Wu formally filed a public records request, under the federal Freedom of Information Act, asking for detailed information on ICE arrests and tactics in the city. At a press conference, Wu said she’s urging the federal government to be more transparent about how it is conducting immigration enforcement in Boston.

Wu also signed an executive order outlining the city’s plan to regularly submit public records requests about immigration enforcement and its intent to make “Know Your Rights” information available to all Boston residents.

The public records request asks the federal government to share a range of documents related to immigration enforcement activity in Boston, including arrest and deportation warrants; immigration detainer and apprehension documents; the basis for all immigration enforcement actions; the name of all people arrested or detained by ICE; and the detention location and any transfers of people ICE takes into custody.

The Boston Globe reports that ICE and other federal agencies made more than 1,400 arrests in Massachusetts in the month of May alone — more than any other month on record in the state. The Globe website features a map showing where ICE arrests have taken place since January of this year. In addition to greater Boston and other urban communities, ICE activity has been documented in places including Great Barrington, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, Acton, Plymouth, Abington and Newburyport.