Families seek answers after about 30 ICE detentions on SouthCoast
FALL RIVER – About 30 people living in the SouthCoast have been detained by ICE agents in a recent wave of arrests, but the federal government “just doesn’t have the benefit of the doubt,” U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss said.
In a press conference with local immigration advocates and representatives from the Diocese of Fall River, Auchincloss accused the Trump administration of using undocumented immigrants as political pawns, saying this spate of arrests is linked to unpopular policies.
“They ratchet up these types of dragnet operations at moments of political weakness for the president,” Auchincloss said. “He announces tariffs. It’s unpopular, he arrests immigrants. Diesel is $6.50 a gallon right now. Americans attach that crippling price to his catastrophic war in Iran, so he’s going to arrest immigrants.
“This is a man who blames immigrants for his own incompetence,” Auchincloss said.
In the past week, officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement have been spotted at multiple locations in Fall River, New Bedford and the surrounding towns.
Information on arrests has been scarce to nonexistent. ICE has not responded to inquiries from The Herald News regarding arrests made and criminal charges filed on the SouthCoast in recent days; the agency typically does not respond to such inquiries.
ICE also does not provide such information to local governments or police departments.
“When they first started, we were actually getting calls,” Mayor Paul Coogan said. “That all ceased. We don’t get a heads-up anymore.”
An exact number of people detained by ICE in the area is unknown, with “about 30” being the best estimate.
Who has been detained by ICE in Massachusetts this week
Complicating the issue is that immigration advocates often have not released names of those arrested and charges lodged against them for privacy reasons. In other cases, advocates and city administration have only heard of cases through rumors and social media posts. Advocates said they’ve heard of students locally abandoned at bus stops because their parents have been arrested by ICE; however, they could not confirm that this was accurate.
Apprehending and detaining criminals is appropriate, Auchincloss and Coogan said.
However, “nationally, more than half of those immigrants who have been detained have no criminal record whatsoever,” Auchincloss said. “Statistically, we should presume that a majority of these individuals don’t have a criminal background or they have very minor civil infractions.”
Helena DaSilva Hughes, president of the Immigrants’ Assistance Center in New Bedford, said she has been told by families who’ve reached out for help that many of those arrested have already filed for asylum, “or some of them have traffic violations.”
Hughes said the last few days have been “a total nightmare.”
She said the recent wave has apprehended many heads of households, leaving mothers and children unable to meet their basic needs or stranded entirely.
“There’s got to be a line drawn where decency still rules,” Coogan said.
“We just had a client who was picked up as he dropped off his kid at school,” Hughes said. “Many of these individuals who are being picked up, not only do they have an asylum claim pending, many of them the children are born in the United States.”
The Rev. Richard Wilson, pastor at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption, said he knew two men who were arrested recently.
“One of the men was the man who led the rosary most Sundays before Mass,” Wilson said. “So last time I heard his voice, he was praying the Glorious Mysteries for the resurrection to the queenship of Mary.”
Another man arrested Wednesday, Sept. 23, called Wilson during his arrest. “The last time I saw him was when he sang at Mass on Sunday. There, he sang Psalm 145,” Wilson said.
Hours later, he said, their wives were in the church praying for God’s help.
“As a church, we’ve responded with legal help and with spiritual help,” Wilson said. “We pray for mercy for these people who are not the worst of the worst, but are people who try to see the good in everyone.”
What we know about where people detained by ICE in Massachusetts being held
Officials said the whereabouts of people arrested by ICE are not all known; many are in facilities in Plymouth and Burlington.
ICE’s detention operations have drawn criticism for featuring officers usually in unmarked vehicles and often masked, performing arrests in well-trafficked, highly visible locations. Auchincloss criticized ICE for supplying agents with poor training.
At least one arrest in Fall River on Wednesday occurred in crowded SouthCoast Marketplace, where ICE agents boxed in a vehicle in the parking lot and reportedly tased a suspect before his arrest. Agents did not cordon off the area to prevent bystanders from accidentally becoming involved; during and immediately after the arrest, people were not restricted from the scene for their own safety and were seen coming and going from businesses nearby.
Auchincloss said there should be immediate reporting of those arrested and the charges filed against them.
Further, people should have “a deep sense of anger” at the way ICE operates, he said.
“Their recruitment, their training, and their operations are all falling below the bar that Americans should expect from uniformed law enforcement,” he said.
By: Dan Medeiros
Source: The Herald News