Tensions between Boston City Hall and federal immigration officials spilled into public view after a Thursday morning ICE arrest outside a Family Dollar in Roslindale Square, which Boston City Councilor Enrique Pepén publicly branded an "abduction." Federal officials quickly fired back, insisting it was a standard enforcement action targeting a man they say is facing serious criminal charges.
Witnesses said the incident unfolded in the busy square and ended with federal officers taking a man into custody. The clash over how to describe that scene has now become a test case in Boston’s escalating fight over immigration enforcement and where the city’s authority ends and the federal government’s begins.
In a statement to Boston 25 News, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin rejected Pepén’s language in blunt terms, writing that "ICE did NOT abduct anyone." McLaughlin said Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested a suspect who federal officials described as having an active criminal case.
Arrest and charges
Federal officials said ICE officers arrested Jose Perez-Antonio on Thursday in Roslindale Square. The Department of Homeland Security told reporters the man faces charges including trafficking cocaine and fentanyl and identity theft, according to the Boston Herald.
Mayor Wu's executive order and the local response
Just days before the Roslindale arrest, Mayor Michelle Wu signed an executive order on Feb. 5 that tightens how Boston interacts with federal immigration authorities. The order bars Immigration and Customs Enforcement from using city buildings, parks or parking lots for civil enforcement and instructs city departments to de-escalate confrontations, according to WCVB.
The directive also tells city departments to release body-camera or surveillance footage if federal agents commit violence or property damage, and to investigate allegations made against federal officials.
Trust Act and detainer numbers
Boston’s Trust Act sets the broader ground rules. The policy generally bars cooperation with civil immigration detainers but allows local police to work with federal officials on certain serious crimes, including human trafficking and drug or weapons trafficking.
The Boston Police Department told city officials it received 57 civil detainer requests last year and did not act on any of them, according to figures in its annual report reported by The Boston Globe.
Local reaction and what comes next
Pepén, a close ally of Mayor Wu, said neighbors and business owners in Roslindale quickly began recording the scene and moved a nearby car that was blocking traffic. He told Boston 25 News he plans to keep fighting to keep ICE out of Boston neighborhoods.
For now, both city officials and the Department of Homeland Security are standing firmly by their versions of what happened in Roslindale as the broader legal and political battles over sanctuary policies and federal immigration enforcement continue to play out.
