Credited from: AA
The Trump administration has initiated an operation in Massachusetts to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants, referred to as Operation Patriot 2.0. This initiative targets “criminal aliens” living in the state and is an extension of a previous deportation surge, which arrested 1,500 individuals in May, according to SCMP, TRTglobal, and Reuters.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) aims to run this operation for several weeks, focusing on immigrants who were released from local custody despite attempts by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain them. The crackdown in Massachusetts coincides with plans for a similar increase in deportations in Chicago, highlighting a nationwide approach, according to AA and SCMP.
This operation comes alongside an increasing number of immigration arrests nationally, and a recent Justice Department lawsuit against Boston’s sanctuary city ordinance, further intensifying the administration's immigration enforcement agenda. Officials from DHS stated that they would focus on immigrants released from local jails despite federal detainers, which adds to the ongoing debate about sanctuary cities in the U.S., as noted by AA and Reuters.