The Boston Police Department acknowledged that federal authorities may have issued a higher number of immigration detainer requests in 2024 than what was reported by the BPD commissioner, citing communication issues stemming from faxed requests.
Police Commissioner Michael Cox reported that the department refused to act on all 15 civil immigration detainer requests last year, but the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) quickly challenged Cox’s data, saying that the feds had lodged 198 detainer requests with BPD in 2024, none of which were honored.
“BPD has documented a total of 15 ICE detainer requests received via facsimile in 2024, but acknowledges that (the Department of Homeland Security) may have different information,” BPD spokesperson Mariellen Burns said in a statement.
Burns said immigration detainer requests are sent via fax to a district police station when the Department of Homeland Security “has determined that probable cause exists that the subject is a removable alien.” The method of communication may have led to fewer instances of detainer requests being recorded than were sent, she indicated in her statement.
“In January 2023, BPD asked that ICE stop sending detainer requests solely via fax to district stations, and also send them to a central email address,” Burns said. “To date, ICE has not used the email address. BPD will continue to work with local authorities to establish a better means of communication regarding civil detainer requests to comply with annual reporting requirements.”
In a letter filed this week with the City Council, Cox wrote that the 15 recorded civil detainer requests were “not acted upon per the Boston Trust Act,” which prohibits BPD and other city departments from cooperating with ICE when it comes to detaining immigrants on civil warrants.
The Trust Act, which was first enacted in 2014 and enshrines the city’s sanctuary status, still allows for cooperation with ICE in criminal matters, according to city officials.
An ICE spokesperson said in a statement, however, that the detainers were issued to the city’s police department to request the custody transfer of 198 individuals ICE had “probable cause to believe were removable non-citizens” after they had been arrested by BPD on charges that involved “egregious criminal activity.”
The BPD statement indicates that the department’s hands are tied by the Trust Act, which, Burns said, prohibits a law enforcement official from detaining an individual solely on the basis of a civil immigration detainer request after that person is eligible for release from custody.
Only the bail commissioner or a court can authorize the release or the continued detention of an individual from custody. The police department does not have the authority to continue to detain that person once he or she posts bail or is transferred to the court, Burns said.
Burns added that BPD does not enforce immigration laws, nor inquire about an individual’s immigration status. A person is taken into police custody only when there is probable cause that a crime has been committed, and he or she is the subject of a valid arrest warrant contained within the relevant database, she said.
“Immigration detainers do not constitute a warrant or contain information regarding criminal conduct,” Burns said, adding that they are limited to information regarding a person’s status as a “removable alien.”
“Given that the Boston Police Department does not have the authority to continue to detain an individual eligible for release, does not have a role in enforcing immigration laws and cannot use department resources for immigration enforcement purposes, the Boston Police Department does not enforce civil immigration laws,” Burns said.
The City Council voted to reaffirm the Trust Act last month. Mayor Michelle Wu was bashed by President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming border czar Tom Homan after citing the local law while vowing that the city would continue to protect immigrants in “every possible way” under Trump’s mass deportation threat.
Cox, in his letter, wrote that the “Boston Police Department remains committed to complying with the Boston Trust Act and to building and strengthening relationships and trust with all our communities.”
“Boston’s immigrant communities should feel safe in reporting crime and quality of life issues to the department and proactively engaging with all members of the Boston Police Department,” Cox wrote.
ICE officials blasted the City of Boston and BPD for refusing 198 detainer requests last year, saying the city was jeopardizing “public safety and national security.”
“Anyone that ICE issues a detainer for is not a victim or witness,” Todd Lyons, a top national ICE official, said in a statement. “They are someone who has come to the attention of law enforcement because of egregious crime. Not honoring an ICE detainer only allows public safety threats back into our neighborhoods.”
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