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Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Acting ICE Director calls Mayor Wu's neo-Nazi comparison 'disgusting' amid increase in agent assaults
Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons slammed Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on "Fox & Friends" on Friday for their "disgusting" rhetoric about the department, which he felt put him and his agents in danger. Wu compared ICE agents wearing masks to members of the neo-Nazi group the Nationalist Social Club-131 (NSC-131) during a press conference on Wednesday, amid government claims that ICE agents have faced a 413% increase in assaults. "I don't know of any police department that routinely wears masks," Wu said on Wednesday. "NSC-131 routinely wears masks." When someone asked Wu whether she was comparing ICE to a neo-Nazi group, the mayor replied, "What I said is that Boston police, and no police department that I know of at the local level, routinely wears masks." Ice Official Puts Politicians On Blast, Demanding They 'Stop Putting My People In Danger' Jeffries declared on Tuesday that all ICE agents who perpetrate "aggressive overreach" and attempt to conceal "their identities from the American people, will be unsuccessful in doing that." They will all be identified "no matter what it takes, no matter how long it takes," he asserted, saying that is what the law requires. Lyons expressed his outrage over Wu and Jeffries' "disgusting" comments to Fox News' Lawrence B. Jones. Read On The Fox News App "I used to say I was pretty disheartened by the political rhetoric, but I've totally changed to it's outright disgusting," he asserted. "What Mayor Wu said is completely disgusting. She actually compared us to a neo-Nazi group. And here I am on [June] 6 where many of the men of ICE —brave men and women that were veterans — on the great day in military history when we defeated the Germans and the Nazi Party, we have elected officials comparing the brave men and women in law enforcement to Nazis. It's completely disgusting." Click Here For The Latest Media And Culture News The acting director claimed the rhetoric being used by Wu and Jeffries is leading to violence against him and his agents, with his own home being targeted by masked protesters at 3:00 a.m. after his address was leaked. "They may not like it, but what the men and women of ICE are doing in Massachusetts and all over this country is making communities safer," he declared. "And under Secretary [Kristi] Noem, she is giving her vision, her leadership to go out there and make these communities safer and that's what ICE is doing." After being asked how many agents he suspects to have been doxxed so far, Lyons estimated that "if not hundreds, thousands" have already had their identities involuntarily revealed. "Look at Massachusetts alone, we had an officer — his photo went viral everywhere. One of the best officers, the most mild-mannered, nicest human beings on the planet, yet he was described in the worst way, with his photo taped to every street corner — to telephone poles identifying him," Lyons said. "Just for doing his job." Wu and Jeffries didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Fox News' Alex Nitzberg contributed to this article source: Acting ICE Director calls Mayor Wu's neo-Nazi comparison 'disgusting' amid increase in agent assaults
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
White House says Mayor Wu calling ICE ‘secret police' is ‘disgusting' and ‘dangerous'
The White House directly responded to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu's characterization of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as 'secret police' Thursday afternoon, denouncing her comments as a 'disgusting, dangerous' attack on law enforcement. 'President Trump is keeping his promise to the American people to deport illegal aliens. It's disturbing that Democrats like Mayor Wu would side with illegal immigrants over Americans and stoke hatred against American law enforcement," White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a press release. Wu's office did not respond to a request for comment Thursday evening. The White House condemned Wu's doubling down on negative comments about ICE that she first made last weekend at the WBUR Festival. 'Every aspect of what's happening at the federal level is causing harm in our local communities,' the mayor said during an interview at the festival. 'People are terrified for their lives and for their neighbors, folks getting snatched off the street by secret police who are wearing masks, who can offer no justification for why certain people are being taken and then detained.' Read more: Mayor Wu defends calling ICE 'secret police' after Mass. US attorney's criticism The White House took particular issue with a reference Wu made while defending her comments to reporters on Wednesday. When talking about ICE agents' choice to wear masks while making arrests, she brought up the fact that New England-based neo-Nazi group NSC-131 also wears masks in public. 'I don't know of any police department that routinely wears masks,' she said, according to The Boston Globe. 'We know that there are other groups that routinely wear masks. NSC-131, routinely wears masks.' Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons — who was the head of ICE's Boston field office until his promotion earlier this year — said Monday that federal immigration agents wear masks because people have been taking pictures of them and posting them online along with death threats. The White House described Wu's comments as 'fanning the flames of hate while ICE agents face unprecedented threats to themselves and their families,' citing a claim ICE made in May that its officers are 'facing a 413% increase in assaults.' The White House also criticized Wu for 'denigrating' ICE officers in the wake of 'Operation Patriot,' a monthlong enforcement operation the agency carried out across Massachusetts during the month of May. Agents arrested nearly 1,500 people during that time, ICE announced Monday. The White House called attention to 10 suspects ICE arrested as part of the operation, all of whom are Central and South American men who were previously convicted of or charged with serious crimes in Massachusetts or their home countries, according to ICE. The crimes listed include murder, rape, child rape and kidnapping, among others, and two of the men had Interpol Red Notices out against them when ICE arrested them. Read more: ICE detained nearly 1,500 people in Mass. in one month Notably, though, some arrests made during Operation Patriot resulted in outrage and fear in Massachusetts communities. Though Acting ICE Director Lyons said the operation was focused on 'transnational organized crime, gangs and egregious illegal alien offenders,' agents also detained foreign nationals whose only crime was being in the country illegally. On May 12, the agency's arrest of a Brazilian mother on the streets of Worcester led to a heated confrontation between protesters and law enforcement and charges against three women — including a city councilor. Additionally, the Milford community was rocked by ICE officers' decision to arrest and detain an 18-year-old high school student last weekend. He was released on bail on Thursday. The White House is far from the first federal entity or official to condemn Wu's comments. In a social media video posted Wednesday morning, Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Leah Foley decried the mayor's statements as a 'false narrative,' pushing back against the idea that people are being 'snatched off the street.' 'There are no secret police. ICE agents, along with other federal law enforcement partners, are making immigration arrests. That is no secret. They are arresting individuals who are here illegally, which is a violation of federal law,' the U.S. Attorney said. 'Every enforcement action is conducted within the bounds of the Constitution and our laws with oversight, legal justification and accountability. To claim otherwise is a gross misrepresentation and a disservice to the public.' Read more: 'False narratives': Mass. US attorney blasts Boston Mayor Wu over remarks on ICE The mayor defended her characterization of ICE Wednesday afternoon when asked about Foley's criticism at an unrelated event at Boston City Hall. ICE hasn't been 'sharing exactly who was arrested and why,' she said. 'The U.S. attorney is attacking me for saying what Bostonians see with their own eyes,' she said. But on Thursday morning, Lyons posted his own video criticizing the mayor's and other politicians' anti-ICE comments, demanding that they 'stop putting [his] people in danger' with 'made-up talking points that get activists riled up.' 'These are real people with real families you're hurting with your ridiculous rhetoric and inflammatory comments,' Lyons said. 'Government vendetta': Harvard fights back after Trump blocks its foreign students from US 'Not a great day': Trump to visiting German leader on D-Day invasion that led to end of Nazis Trump 'very disappointed' with Elon, who he says has 'Trump Derangement Syndrome' Lawmakers decry FirstLight dam's 300-gallon oil spill into Conn. River Funding cuts, lawsuits, foreign students: The latest on Trump's war with Harvard University Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Homeland Security says Boston's mayor comparing ICE agents to neo-Nazis is 'sickening'
The Department of Homeland Security says Boston's Democrat mayor comparing ICE agents to neo-Nazis is "sickening." The reaction Thursday came in response to a video posted by an account affiliated with the White House, during which Michelle Wu said, "I don't know of any police department that routinely wears masks. "We know that there are other groups that routinely wear masks. NSC-131 routinely wears masks," Wu added, in reference to a New England-based neo-Nazi group. "Mayor Wu comparing ICE agents to neo-Nazis is SICKENING," Homeland Security wrote on X. "When our heroic law enforcement officers conduct operations, they clearly identify themselves as law enforcement while wearing masks to protect themselves from being targeted by known and suspected gang members, murders, and rapists." False Rumors Of Minneapolis Ice Raid Spark Protest As Police Decry 'Irreponsible' Information From Elected Officials "Attacks and demonization of our brave law enforcement is WRONG. ICE officers are now facing a 413% increase in assaults," Homeland Security added. Read On The Fox News App The Anti-Defamation League said members of NSC-131 "consider themselves soldiers at war with a hostile, Jewish-controlled system that is deliberately plotting the extinction of the White race." Wu also recently said in an interview with Wbur that "People are terrified for their lives and for their neighbors" and "folks [are] getting snatched off the street by secret police who are wearing masks, who can offer no justification for why certain people are being taken and then detained." Democrats Vying For Nyc Mayor Spar Over Defunding Police, Combating Ice ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons, in a message to Wu on Wednesday, said "these are real people with real families you're hurting with your ridiculous rhetoric and inflammatory comments and it's time to remember that." Leah Foley, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, also released a video message saying "federal agents in marked jackets and vests are masking their faces because people like Mayor Wu have created false narratives about their mission. "Federal agents and their children are being threatened, doxxed and assaulted. That is why they must hide their faces," she article source: Homeland Security says Boston's mayor comparing ICE agents to neo-Nazis is 'sickening'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Boston Police don't wear masks, neo-Nazi group does, Wu says in talking about masked federal agents
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu volleyed additional criticism against federal law enforcement on Wednesday while speaking about masks worn by federal officers who are enforcing immigration laws. Acting Director Todd Lyons and U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said this week that federal agents and officers have been 'doxed' on social media, and sometimes wear masks while on duty and making immigration arrests after officers, and their families, have received death threats. In a recent interview with WBUR, Wu likened ICE immigration officers to 'secret police.' Foley, in a video message on social media Wednesday morning, condemned Wu's comments, calling them 'reckless and inflammatory statements.' The U.S. Attorney again cited the increasing threats faced by federal law enforcement in doing their job. It didn't end there. Wu, when asked later Wednesday about Foley's remarks and while discussing masks worn by some law enforcement, brought up the prominent New England neo-Nazi group Nationalist Social Club, also known as NSC-131. 'I don't know of any police department that routinely wears masks,' Wu told Boston 25. 'We know that there are other groups that routinely wear masks: NSC-131 routinely wears masks.' Boston's mayor added: 'The action of ICE officers who are wearing masks are intimidating residents, it's undermining safety in our communities and it's making it harder for Boston Police to do their jobs effectively as well.' When asked for comment late Wednesday afternoon, an ICE spokesperson said, 'Our officers wear masks for their safety and the safety of their families.' 'We have already had officers doxed online – some have had their wives' and children's social media accounts made public and even schools where their children attended,' the ICE spokesperson said. 'There are some sick and crazy people out there who would like to see harm come to our officers and their families." 'Our officers risk their safety every day to prioritize the safety of all Americans, regardless of race or religion,' the ICE spokesperson said. Wednesday's exchange wasn't the first between Wu and a federal official. Border czar Tom Homan has criticized Wu and other Massachusetts politicians and communities for not complying with federal authorities who are trying to apprehend hard criminals who are in the country illegally. In March, Homan traveled to Boston to oversee a federal law enforcement operation over several days. 'I made a promise at CPAC that I was going to Boston after reading about numerous illegal alien child rapists walking the streets of Boston and Massachusetts,' Homan said in a post on X in March. 'ICE had to find and arrest these illegal alien rapists because Massachusetts and Boston are sanctuaries that refuse to cooperate with ICE,' Homan said. 'They would rather release these animals back into the community rather than honor ICE detainers or notify ICE when they are scheduled to be released.' 'Mayor Wu later testified that I was lying,' Homan said in his March post of Wu, who testified before Congress with other mayors on March 5 about Boston's sanctuary city policies. Wu hired a Boston law firm to prepare for the congressional hearing. Wu, meanwhile, said Wednesday that Boston Police officers do not wear masks. 'Boston Police make arrests, they are on the street 24 hours a day, they are in very complicated daily interactions,' Wu said. 'They do all of this without wearing masks, displaying their badges publicly, with body cameras that document the interactions that take place with full transparency because we have nothing to hide.' Earlier Wednesday, Foley denounced Wu's comments targeting federal agents and officers. 'Referring to federal agents as 'secret police' is offensive,' Foley said. 'There are no secret police.' 'ICE agents along with other federal law enforcement partners are making immigration arrests. That is no secret,' Foley said. 'They are arresting individuals who are here illegally, which is a violation of federal law. Every enforcement action is conducted within the bounds of the Constitution and our laws, with oversight, legal justification and accountability.' 'To claim otherwise is a gross misrepresentation and a disservice to the public,' Foley said. Foley also spoke about the masks worn by federal agents and officers in her video message on Wednesday. 'Federal agents in marked jackets and vests are masking their faces because people like Mayor Wu have created false narratives about their mission,' Foley said. 'Federal agents and their children are being threatened, doxed and assaulted. That is why they must hide their faces.' Wu, later Wednesday, responded to Foley's remarks. 'The US Attorney is attacking me for saying what Bostonians see with their own eyes,' Wu said. 'We know this is happening. We have seen, if not the video of it, we have seen it directly in our communities and it is undermining our efforts at the local level to keep people safe because it is spreading fear that undermines the trust with local police.' 'We do things very differently in Boston and we are proud of how we do things,' Wu said. 'We know there is more work to do and we hold ourselves to the very highest standards of accountability with our community, of being there when people need help, and of building a trust to do that right.' Assaults against ICE officers are up 400 percent since this time period last year, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said late last month. Lyons, a native of South Boston and a graduate of Boston College High School in Dorchester, said the surge in assaults on federal law enforcement officers is, in part, due to politicians who 'are careless with their politically motivated rhetoric.' On Monday, he and Foley were among federal officials who announced the arrest of nearly 1,500 people in Massachusetts, in the month of May alone, who are living in the U.S. illegally. More than half of those arrests, authorities said, were of people with 'significant' criminal backgrounds -- convicted murderers sought by Interpol, child rapists, drug traffickers. His comments came weeks after reported assaults on law enforcement officers in a Worcester neighborhood on May 8. On May 16, the city of Worcester released body camera footage after chaos erupted when a crowd surrounded and assaulted law enforcement officers. A link to the full Worcester Police body camera video can be found here. ICE agents at the time were trying to detain Brazilian national Rosane Ferreira de Oliveira, 40, who is in the country illegally and faces previous criminal assault charges, federal authorities said. Several people, including City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj and Worcester School Committee candidate Ashley Spring, are seen in the videos shouting angrily at the officers and pushing and shoving the officers. Haxhiaj has since been charged. Spring, 38, was arrested, accused of throwing an unknown substance at an officer. 'I'm sorry if people are offended by them wearing masks, but I'm not gonna let my officers and agents go out there and put their lives on the line and their family on the line because people don't like what immigration enforcement is,' Lyons said Monday. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
