U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested an unknown number of suspects this week on the Massachusetts island of Nantucket for alleged “immigration violations” in a raid that specifically targeted “violent criminals,” local authorities said in a press release Thursday.
Nantucket police said ICE agents had contacted local Nantucket authorities on Sept. 9 “regarding their anticipated arrival on the island.” According to Local officials added that the ICE agents' purpose was “to execute administrative arrest warrants for immigration violations” and that local detective units were assisting by providing “requested addresses.” (RELATED: DCNF reporter says Trump cat meme blew up in Democrats' faces, forcing media to cover Harris' role in border crisis)
“Their purpose for coming to the island was to execute administrative arrest warrants for violations of immigration law. The arrest warrants were specifically for 'violent criminals.' U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as many other local, state and federal agencies, requested our assistance with their local knowledge of the geographic area of our city,” the press statement read.
A Secret Service agent walks in front of U.S. President Joe Biden (L) as he visits a local store with relatives in Nantucket, Massachusetts, on November 25, 2023. (Photo by Brendan Smiarowski/AFP via Getty Images)
“The Nantucket Police Department, specifically the Criminal Division, assisted in locating the requested addresses provided by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” the press statement continued.
Word of the arrest spread across Nantucket this week and “created panic for a lot of people,” local resident Esmeralda Martinez said. said Nantucket Current.
“This is frightening for a lot of people,” Martinez told the outlet. “Even though most people don't have criminal records, people are hiding out of fear that they may be here simply because they're not here legally. A lot of people are panicking.”
In June, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, a Democrat, sent five state officials to the border in Texas to warn undocumented immigrants not to flee to the state because migrant shelters were full. Though state and local policies consider Massachusetts a “sanctuary” area, the move came after Governor Healey limited the emergency shelter system's capacity to 7,500 families last year, straining resources.
ICE did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation's request for comment.
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