Thread: MA: Immigration raids net 80 arrests

Immigration raids net 80 arrests

(NECN) - 80 people have been arrested in a series of raids in Massachusetts targeting gang members. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says all 80 of those arrested have criminal records.

The arrests, which included 52 people identified as gang members and 28 others, are part of the agency's Operation Community Shield initiative, which targets violent street gangs. An ICE spokesperson says those arrested represent 24 different gangs, including Tiny Rascals, Bloods, Crips, 18th Street, MS-13 and the Deuce Boys and others.

An ICE press release says the four-day operation yielded arrests of 55 U.S. permanent residents who may be removable from the U.S. based upon their criminal history, 14 who were illegally residing in the U.S., two who are wanted on warrants of deportation, and three others who have re-entered the U.S. illegally after having been deported.

Fall River Police Chief John M. Souza said in the press release that the Fall River Police Department coordinated and worked closely with federal agents and that this was "indicative of the ability of the agencies to work cooperatively together to achieve a common goal of public safety in our community."

Those arrested as part of this local gang operation are foreign nationals from Barbados, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Columbia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Portugal, Trinidad and Vietnam.

Immigrant groups have expressed concern about the raids and that non-gang members were also arrested. A vigil was scheduled for 6pm in Lowell to express those concerns.
http://www.necn.com/Boston/New-England/ ... 21117.html

70 arrests announced in ICE antigang operation
Email| Text size – + August 8, 2008 02:43 PM
By Globe Staff


Fifty-two gang members and 28 other criminals have been arrested this week as part of a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation, ICE announced today.

The agency said that the arrests were part of Operation Community Shield, which targets violent street gangs. The people arrested belonged to 24 different gangs, including the Tiny Rascals, Bloods, Crips, 18th Street, MS-13, and the Deuce Boys.

"Criminal aliens should be on notice that ICE is working closely with local law enforcement to take off the streets those who threaten the very safety of our neighborhoods," Bruce Foucart, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Boston, said in a statement.

But Shuya Ohya, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, said the ICE agents were using heavy-handed tactics and questioned whether they were arresting the right people.

"Protecting public safety should not be terrorizing communities," he said. "Families with no cause to fear are now in a panic."

Those arrested came from Barbados, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Portugal, Trinidad, and Vietnam.

The operation was conducted in partnership with police in Boston, Cambridge, Worcester, New Bedford, Fall River, Taunton, Lowell, Lawrence, and 15 other cities and towns.

Ohya said that a vigil was planned in Lowell this evening where community members were planning to speak out.

While the operation might be intended to target violent gangs, "there's a lot of other people in here that they're portraying as violent criminals when that might not be the case at all," he said.

Vong Ros, executive director of the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association, a social service agency for Cambodian immigrants in Lowell, said the raid had caused "major fear throughout the community."
http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaki ... _anno.html

That is Shuya Ohno of MIRA Coalition the surname is not Ohya*the journalist messed up the name.