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‘There are no secret police’: U.S. attorney for Mass. blasts Wu over ICE concerns
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said that residents were "terrified" by ICE operations. The top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts had a pointed response.
U.S. Attorney Leah Foley sharply criticized Boston Mayor Michelle Wu Wednesday, days after Wu said that residents were “terrified” because of recent ICE activity in and around the city.
Wu made her comments during a talk at the WBUR Festival last Friday.
“People are terrified for their lives and for their neighbors,” she said. “Folks [are] getting snatched off the street by secret police who are wearing masks, who can offer no justification for why certain people are being taken and then detained.”
This apparently did not sit well with Foley, who was appointed to be the top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts the day after President Donald Trump returned to office. Publicly, Foley has been in lockstep with federal officials at ICE and other agencies when it comes to immigration enforcement.
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In a video posted to social media Wednesday morning, Foley called out Wu by name and said that her comments were “reckless and inflammatory.” She said that the term “secret police” is offensive and that claims of ICE agents skirting the law in their enforcement actions are a “gross misrepresentation.”
Foley defended the practice of immigration enforcement officers wearing masks to shield their identities from the public, saying that it is necessary to protect the agents and their families.
“Federal agents in marked jackets and vests are masking their faces because people like Mayor Wu have created false narratives about their mission. Federal agents and their children are being threatened, doxxed, and assaulted. That is why they must hide their faces,” she said.
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She insisted that every arrest being made by ICE is sanctioned by federal law and took umbrage with Wu’s use of the phrase “snatch” when referring to the arrests.
A spokesperson for Wu did not return a request for comment Wednesday.
The video is the latest escalation in tensions between Wu and the federal government over immigration enforcement. The mayor exchanged pointed words with Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan, who responded by threatening to “bring hell” to Boston.
The White House’s allies in Congress called Wu to Washington this spring to testify about Boston’s so-called “sanctuary” policies. Wu took the opportunity on the national stage to call out Homan and tout Boston’s improving public safety as evidence that the “sanctuary” policies work.
The federal government and ICE specifically continued to focus on Boston and Massachusetts. The agency, with the help of other federal partners, conducted a monthlong operation in the state that resulted in the arrests of almost 1,500 people. It was one of the largest operations in ICE history, and officials, including Foley, convened a splashy press conference earlier this week to tout their success.
ICE officials published images and descriptions of some of the people arrested in the operation who they say are murderers, rapists, and drug traffickers. But their identities were not released, making independent verification impossible. According to figures provided by ICE itself, less than 60% of those arrested in the operation had criminal charges against them.
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One of the people swept up in the arrests was 18-year-old Marcelo Gomes da Silva, a Milford student who was detained as agents searched for his father. Gomes da Silva’s continued detainment is sparking significant outrage in Milford and beyond.
Throughout Massachusetts, ICE activity is being documented by concerned residents. Agents have been observed smashing car windows, leaving a child alone on the side of the road, and profiling the vans of workers. Social media users routinely post videos and images of masked agents to websites like Reddit. A statewide network of volunteers was set up to take reports of ICE activity and dispatch residents to document their activity.
Foley has not been shy about using her new position to publicly back up the Trump administration. She immediately threatened anyone who obstructs ICE, including elected officials. Foley also investigated a Boston University employee who criticized Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative online and, just weeks ago, issued another pointed warning about impeding ICE operations.
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