Providence police chief denies helping ICE arrest alleged drug trafficker

Boston Globe

15-07-2025

Perez said police did not know why
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Social media video circulated on Sunday and Monday shows Providence police cruisers on the scene of the crash, and also standing on the stoop of a home next to ICE officers who are putting a man in handcuffs.
It prompted alarm, including from
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'There were half a dozen Providence police officers in uniform near the individual who was detained,' Morales said. 'When it comes to trying to maintain public safety on the road and in a public street, that's a whole different story than actively being with the ICE officer.'
'The ICE agent is the one responsible for enforcing immigration law,' he added.
Perez said police were on scene only because they received a call about multiple motor vehicle accidents. He said the report came in from the ICE agent, who called dispatch to report the crash.
'Our officers remained on the scene of ensure the safety of residents and to maintain order,' Perez said.
Asked why officers stood by the ICE agents on the stoop as they made their arrest, Perez said officers only knocked on the door of the home in an effort to evacuate anyone who wanted to leave, as ICE was about to use force to enter the house to get the suspect, who had run inside after the crash.
He said a woman who lives there asked Providence officers to help her and her children evacuate. But moments later, Mendoza Meza came out and voluntarily surrendered.
'We were not involved in a violent raid,' Perez said. That's not our job." He said he had no information about why the man was being pursued in the first place.
A police report says the call about the crash came in from a 'government worker who wishes to be unnamed.' The crash report does not name the ICE agent, and does not attribute fault to any party, though it notes that the driver of the Toyota left the scene.
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ICE criticized officials for failing to detain Mendoza Meza on their behalf in the first place. Covington said the agency issued a detainer against Mendoza Meza with the Adult Correctional Institutions on Aug. 24, 2023, but Mendoza Meza was released on bond in 2024, prompting ICE to locate him in the city.
Covington said Mendoza Meza, 27, is a 'Honduran national and known member of MS-13,' and in the country illegally.
It was not immediately clear if Meza had a lawyer or if he was still detained Monday night.
The incident comes as fears remain high about immigration raids and arrests in the community. The Providence City Council recently
Providence police do not cooperate with ICE on civil immigration enforcement, nor do they hold suspects who are wanted on administrative detainers alone. But city police will cooperate if they arrest someone for a crime and that person is wanted by ICE on a criminal warrant.
Perez said no such requests have come through this year.
Perez said this was the first time since Trump took office in January that Providence police ended up at the scene of an ICE raid. He said the local officers 'did not participate in or assist with any enforcement actions carried out by ICE.'
'We do not enforce federal immigration law, nor do we collaborate with ICE in its operations,' Perez said. 'When we respond to these locations, our number one priority is the safety of all involved.'
Steph Machado can be reached at