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Musk inserts himself into Mass. immigration debate
Following the arrest of migrants charges with child rape, Elon Musk attacked some Massachusetts officials.
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a top advisor to President-elect Donald Trump, used his social media platform this week to attack Massachusetts officials over immigration policy.
As Trump and his allies ramp up preparations for what they say will be mass deportations of immigrants without legal status, Massachusetts leaders like Gov. Maura Healey and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu reaffirmed their commitments to existing laws that dictate how local law enforcement can cooperate with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
Musk inserted himself into the local debate by responding to recent news releases from ICE’s Boston office regarding the arrests of three foreign nationals who had been accused of raping children. He said that so-called “sanctuary cities” were “protecting child rapists,” and called for any politician doing so to be “recalled immediately.”
Musk recently defended former Rep. Matt Gaetz, Trump’s first pick for attorney general, who had previously been investigated on suspicion of sex trafficking an underage girl. Gaetz denied those allegations.
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Massachusetts officials like Healey have been clear that they are not against deporting undocumented immigrants connected to serious crimes like rape and murder. In the wake of Trump’s victory, Healey said that State Police would not help federal agents carry out mass deportations.
“Violent criminals should be deported, and they are,” Healey recently told The Boston Globe. “I do not, however, support efforts to round up millions of families who’ve lived here a long time, people who are gainfully employed, and many who have kids here. I don’t think it’s humane or smart economically, and it will crater some of our major industries across the country.”
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Trump recently said he would use the military to carry out mass deportations.
A spokesperson for the Massachusetts State Police also told the Globe that enforcing federal immigration law is “not a mission” of the agency, and that troopers are actually prevented from enforcement operations that only rely on federal immigration detainers. These detainers are requests from ICE that ask law enforcement agencies to notify the agency as early as possible before removable noncitizens are released. Detainers also ask law enforcement to hold the noncitizen for up to an additional 48 hours.
But ICE detainers are not mandatory, and local law enforcement has to choose whether or not to cooperate. Most ICE detainers are not supported by probable cause, according to ACLU Massachusetts. In 2017, a federal court of appeals actually ruled that the Fourth Amendment requires detainers be supported by probable cause. Law enforcement agencies that hold people on unconstitutional detainers can be found liable.
One of the reports Musk was responding to concerned Guatemalan national Mynor Stiven De Paz-Munoz, who was charged with child rape in Great Barrington. De Paz-Munoz, who entered the U.S. in 2020, was released by U.S. Border Patrol with a notice to appear before a judge, according to ICE. He was arrested by Great Barrington police for the alleged rape of a child and other related charges in February of this year, and ICE lodged an immigration detainer with the Great Barrington Police Department. According to ICE, that detainer was “ignored” and De Paz-Munoz was released on bail before federal agents could detain him. He was eventually arrested by ICE in Great Barrington earlier this month. The charges are pending against him in Berkshire County Superior Court, and he remains in ICE custody.
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In another recent release, ICE announced the arrest of Billy Erney Buitrago-Bustos. Buitrago-Bustos is a Colombian national who was admitted to the U.S. in 2016 and failed to depart on the terms of his visa, authorities said. Great Barrington police arrested him on charges of child rape in October 2023, and ICE lodged a detainer. He was arraigned and ordered held without bail. The Berkshire County Jail and House of Correction in Pittsfield honored the immigration detainer and released Buitrago-Bustos into ICE custody earlier this month, the agency said.
The third report Musk was responding to concerned Alexandre Romao De Oliveira, a Brazilian national who had been convicted of child rape in his home country in 2022 and sentenced to 14 years in prison. But Romao De Oliveira fled to the U.S. later that year and was released from Department of Homeland Security custody with a notice to appear before a judge. He was arrested earlier this week by ICE agents in Methuen.
When Trump takes office, more clashes between his administration and Massachusetts leaders appear likely. Already, Wu and Trump’s incoming “border czar” Tom Homan have traded barbs.
When asked about Trump’s plans, Wu said that Boston’s resources and personnel, including local police, are not expected to cooperate with federal agents attempting to detain migrants that have not “been part of serious criminal activity.” She cited an existing ordinance that bars local police from holding immigrants for deportation unless there has been a criminal warrant issued for their arrest.
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Homan said Wu was “not very smart” and warned her not to cross a “clear line.” In a response, Wu pointed to Boston’s recent track record of improving public safety.
“They can say whatever they want about me, but our public safety record speaks for itself: Boston is the safest major city in America. Our homicide rates are among the lowest of any city nationally, and gun violence has been at an all-time historic low over the last two years here in Boston,” Wu said in a statement.
“This is no coincidence—it’s a reflection of the trust between our residents and our public safety officials, and a result of our daily focus on community policing and coordinating city services,” the mayor continued. “We will continue to focus on that work and have no intention of rolling out the welcome mat for them.”
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