Bristol County Sheriff Paul Heroux is publicly taking on Immigration and Customs Enforcement, accusing the agency of “bullying” after a federal social media post singled out his office for releasing a man later picked up by ICE. Heroux said the online broadside was an attempt to shame him into breaking Massachusetts law, and he vowed that his department will keep following state court precedent on immigration detainers. He told reporters he would rather “call out their incompetence and their bullying” than stay quiet.
ICE's Post and the Accused
According to The Boston Globe, ICE Boston posted a mugshot and labeled the man, identified by the agency as Jose Raul Martinez Alvarado, a “criminal illegal alien,” declaring that the Bristol County House of Corrections “RELEASED Martinez-Alvardo without honoring the ICE detainer.” The Globe reports that ICE says Martinez Alvarado faces multiple pending gun charges tied to a June arrest in New Bedford. The agency said it arrested him during enforcement operations on July 2 and lists him as being held in federal custody at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility.
Timeline and Custody
CBS Boston reports that New Bedford police encountered Martinez Alvarado at an apartment in early June, after which he was arraigned and pleaded not guilty. He then posted bail and was released. The station notes that ICE later detained him during regular operations on July 2. Local coverage indicates that he remains in ICE custody while the criminal court case moves forward.
Sheriff Cites State Law
Heroux is leaning heavily on a 2017 ruling from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in Lunn v. Commonwealth, which, as summarized by the Boston Bar Association, held that state and local officials generally lack authority to detain people based solely on civil ICE detainers. He also pointed to a policy he rolled out last year that limits what his office shares with ICE, including release dates and bail details, and said the agency’s social media blast was designed to intimidate local officials, according to the Standard-Times. Heroux insisted that his office is bound by state law and that he will not hold anyone past their lawful release date just because ICE has filed a detainer.
Legal Fallout and Next Steps
Heroux did not just brush off the criticism, he essentially invited a courtroom showdown. He said he would welcome a lawsuit from ICE and predicted his office would prevail, telling reporters, “I welcome ICE suing us. We will win this 10 out of 10 times,” as reported by The Boston Globe. He also pointed back to a March 2025 comment from U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley that sheriffs are “bound by state law,” a line he says underscores his view that immigration detainers are requests rather than mandatory orders. If ICE opts to litigate, it would set up a direct clash between federal immigration enforcement goals and the way Massachusetts applies the Lunn decision on the ground.
Why It Matters
The dispute highlights the ongoing friction between federal immigration authorities and Massachusetts officials who read state law narrowly when it comes to honoring ICE detainers. Martinez Alvarado has a probable cause hearing scheduled for July 8 and remains listed in ICE custody, according to Boston.com. The clash is likely to fuel a broader debate over how local sheriffs weigh public safety concerns against the legal limits on cooperating with federal immigration authorities.
