More than 660,000 noncitizens with criminal histories are on ICE’s national docket, a “staggering” number that the Massachusetts GOP pointed out is larger than the “entire population of Boston.”
As of July, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement recorded 662,566 illegal immigrants who have a criminal background on its national docket. Of those, 435,719 are convicted criminals and 226,847 have pending criminal charges.
That’s according to fresh national data that Deputy Director Patrick L. Lechleitner released last week, providing the numbers to U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, whose southwestern Texas district borders Mexico.
Boston’s population in 2024 is 654,423, according to World Population Review.
Massachusetts GOP Spokesperson Logan Trupiano highlighted that discrepancy in a statement to the Herald on Saturday, blasting Democratic elected officials who, he said, “often appeal to emotions instead of confronting the reality of the situation.”
“People need to understand that when Republicans discuss the dangers of lax immigration policies, this is what we mean,” Trupiano said. “It’s serious and dangerous.”
More than 150 Democrats in Congress, including all but one of Massachusetts’ all-Democratic delegation, opposed a bipartisan bill in mid-September to crack down on sex crimes and violence by undocumented immigrants.
A Herald analysis of ICE-issued news releases since the start of August found at least 30 illegal immigrants have faced legal repercussions for a slew of crimes within the past few months across Massachusetts.
ICE Boston conducted a multi-day “targeted” operation on Nantucket earlier this month and took five illegal immigrants into custody.
Charges ranged from disorderly conduct and two counts of assault and battery on a household member to 11 alleged sex crimes including aggravated rape of a child.
State Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Cape and Islands, told the Herald that he’s spoken with municipal and public safety officials, offering his support.
“Criminal activity should not be tolerated anywhere, by anyone — regardless of immigration status,” Cyr said in a statement emailed from his office. “I am grateful that these individuals have been apprehended and no longer present a danger to public safety on the island, and my thoughts remain with the victims of these heinous crimes.”
The Massachusetts GOP and the Republican candidate running for the Cape and Islands senatorial seat, Christopher Lauzon, slammed Cyr for what they described as a “deafening silence” in reaction to the arrests on Nantucket.
Lauzon also took exception to how several arrests included illegal immigrants who had previously been charged with crimes but were released into the community after posting bail.
“I cannot fathom why any court would ignore ICE detainers for those who have committed such heinous crimes,” he said in a statement. “The Democratic supermajority’s failure to protect our communities is inexcusable.”
Gov. Maura Healey’s administration indicated in late July that it expects to spend more money than originally anticipated this fiscal year on the emergency shelter system housing migrants and local families.
Shelter-related costs are projected to top $1 billion if caseloads remain the same, an increase from the $915 million state budget writers first said they expected to spend and a sign that officials do not forecast a slowdown in demand.
Schools are being impacted. One district, Norfolk, dealt with an “unanticipated change” earlier this month as officials in the Greater Boston town reported that 20 children staying at a former prison might enroll in the local schools.
That same day, Healey announced nearly $2 million in federal funding to help dozens of districts confront challenges.
Paul Diego Craney, spokesman for state watchdog Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, is calling on Healey, Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka to “reverse some of the state policies that attract these predictors to Massachusetts.”
“The number one job of government is to protect its citizens,” Craney said in a statement to the Herald on Saturday. “Our country’s open southern border with Massachusetts’ very generous welfare benefits and only in the nation right to shelter law for illegal and inadmissible immigrants has created a situation in which government is failing to keep its citizens safe.”
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