Democratic Governor Shifts Position, Now Backs ICE in Arresting ‘Criminal’ Migrants
The governor of Massachusetts, a Democrat, has now expressed support for the arrest of undocumented individuals involved in criminal activities, emphasizing the necessity of “the apprehension of criminals in our communities.”
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Gov. Maura Healey stated that she stands behind the arrests of criminals regardless of their immigration status, according to local news outlet WCVB.
Fox News reported that ICE agents in Boston detained eight individuals this week, among them MS-13 members, suspects with Interpol Red Notices, individuals wanted for serious offenses like murder and sexual assault, and a Haitian gang member with a history of 18 prior convictions. During the arrest, the gang member allegedly shouted, “I ain’t going back to Haiti!” and “F— Trump, Biden forever!”
These arrests align with the Trump administration’s intensified efforts to carry out large-scale deportations, prioritizing individuals deemed threats to public safety.
Commenting on the operations, Healey clarified that she “wouldn’t describe them as raids,” but rather as “what it seems to be, and what we expected and what I support, which is the apprehension of criminals in our communities.”
She further asserted, “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,” as reported by Boston 25, a Fox affiliate.
Her recent remarks signal a notable departure from her earlier stance before the 47th president took office.
Back in November, Healey had pledged to push back against Trump’s immigration enforcement actions, stressing that Massachusetts does not function as a sanctuary state, despite a 2017 ruling from the state’s Supreme Judicial Court limiting law enforcement cooperation with ICE.
At the time, she declared that state police would “absolutely not” participate in Trump’s deportation operations and promised to leverage “every tool in the toolbox” to “protect” residents of the predominantly Democratic state.
“I still remain opposed to efforts to target large swaths of an undocumented population who’ve done nothing wrong other than they’re here without lawful presence,” she stated.
Recently, however, Healey has embraced a more moderate approach to immigration enforcement.
Following revelations that an undocumented migrant had been misusing the state’s shelter system for unlawful activities, Healey voiced her “outrage” and called for a full review of the system. She also urged state lawmakers to revise Massachusetts’ “right to shelter” policies to exclude undocumented immigrants.
At that time, she also remarked that Trump had an opportunity to fix what she called a broken immigration system, adding, “I hope he does.”
Critics of Democratic policies argue that the issue isn’t that the system is “broken” but rather that Democratic-led states and cities refuse to enforce existing laws or work with federal immigration authorities.
Meanwhile, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell remains an outspoken critic of Trump’s immigration policies. This week, she took to social media multiple times to express her disapproval, writing in one X post, “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.”
She further asserted, “State AGs won’t hesitate to respond if his threats become illegal actions.”
At the same time, Republican state Reps. Michael Soter and Kenneth Sweezey introduced a new bill on Friday titled “An Act to promote and protect safety in the Commonwealth,” aiming to strengthen state and local law enforcement’s cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
“The immigration issue in Massachusetts has gotten completely out of control,” Sweezey stated in a release to Fox News Digital. “This piece of legislation is a very simple, common-sense first step in rectifying part of the issue.”