About 40 people on Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket arrested by ICE Tuesday
On Martha's Vineyard, ICE agents working with the FBI, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Coast Guard were seen making traffic stops in unmarked vehicles on May 27, MassLive's media partner, the Vineyard Gazette, reported. One video shared on social media showed a masked officer talking to a driver in an L&R Electrical Services van.
Thiago Alves, owner of Rhode Island-based L&R Electrical Services, confirmed to the newspaper that one of his workers was stopped by ICE and FBI agents. His employee — who he said has a green card — was questioned, then released.
'They questioned my guys looking for paperwork,' Alves said.
Other trade workers on the island were also stopped by immigration officers on Tuesday, Alves told the Gazette.
'My guy said they are stopping all the work vans. It's nothing against [us], it's pretty much everyone,' he said.
One Martha's Vineyard woman, who asked to be anonymous for fear of reprisal, told the Gazette that she saw multiple traffic stops and arrests by federal law enforcement while agents driving around Vineyard Haven Tuesday morning.
'They were just grabbing people out of their cars,' she said.
On Nantucket, several people were seen being taken off the island via a U.S. Coast Guard cutter in handcuffs, MassLive's media partner, The Inquirer and Mirror, reported Tuesday.
The Nantucket Police Department was aware the operation was going to take place but did not assist federal agents in any way, Lt. Angus MacVicar said Tuesday.
'We were notified [Monday] that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (I.C.E) would be arriving today. We were not asked to support their operation in any way or have we assisted today,' MacVicar said in a statement.
In total, ICE said the operation ended in about 40 arrests, including a notorious MS-13 street gang member and at least one child sex offender.
The U.S. Coast Guard helped take the nearly 40 people off of the island.
'This operation highlights FBI Boston's ongoing commitment to supporting our partners at the Department of Homeland Security with identifying and apprehending those who are breaking the law by violating our immigration laws and, in some cases, committing crimes that endanger public safety,' said Kimberly Milka, acting special agent in charge of the FBI's Boston Division.
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