When’s the last time you heard a government agency enforce immigration law and actually mean it? Well, brace yourself — because that’s exactly what just happened in Massachusetts, and the numbers speak for themselves.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in coordination with the FBI, Customs and Border Protection, and Homeland Security Investigations, launched a month-long operation called “Operation Patriot.” The goal? A shockingly radical idea: enforce existing immigration laws. The result? 1,461 illegal immigrants arrested — over half of them with criminal records, many with charges as serious as murder, child exploitation, and drug trafficking.
According to Michael Krol, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England, the arrests weren’t your run-of-the-mill visa overstays. “Among those arrested include truly alarming criminals: murderers wanted in their home countries, child predators, and drug traffickers.” Not exactly the poster children for the “no human is illegal” bumper sticker crowd.
One particularly notable arrest was a 55-year-old Salvadoran national flagged by Interpol for aggravated homicide and kidnapping. This is the type of individual sanctuary city policies would have protected from federal enforcement. Let that sink in.
But of course, the media wasn’t too interested in the murderers or traffickers. No, their spotlight turned instead to Marcelo Gomes, an 18-year-old high school student who happened to be driving his father’s vehicle when ICE moved in. The talking heads tried to frame it as an overreach. But according to Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, Marcelo wasn’t the target — his father was. That didn’t stop reporters from implying that ICE was kicking in lockers and hauling kids off in handcuffs.
Lyons clarified, “We’re doing the job that ICE should have been doing all along… We enforce all immigration laws.” When a reporter asked why a student like Gomes was picked up, Lyons responded, “I didn’t say he was dangerous. I said he’s in this country illegally, and we’re not going to walk away from anybody.”
That’s the kind of clarity America’s been starving for.
Let’s not forget the broader picture here: this is part of the promise made by border czar Tom Homan, who said ICE would focus on cities actively shielding illegal immigrants from federal law enforcement. And with Massachusetts often leading the charge as a sanctuary state, it looks like the message just got hand-delivered.
“We’re doing immigration actions all throughout the country,” Homan said, emphasizing that no city — no matter how progressive — is above the law.
Now, of course, the usual critics are up in arms. They see enforcement as cruel and unnecessary. But most Americans understand that you can’t have a nation without borders, and you can’t have borders without enforcement. Arresting violent criminals and deporting them isn’t controversial — it’s responsible.
The left loves to frame these crackdowns as heartless. But what’s truly heartless is allowing violent offenders to roam free in communities just so politicians can virtue signal. This operation wasn’t about race or rhetoric — it was about restoring order and keeping Americans safe.
At the end of the day, “Operation Patriot” isn’t just about Massachusetts. It’s a wake-up call for every city pretending that harboring illegal immigrants is somehow a moral high ground. ICE isn’t playing politics — they’re playing defense. And for once, the American people might actually win.