ICE agents arrested dozens of people across the New Bedford area this week, prompting Massachusetts officials and immigration attorneys to mobilize against the enforcement operation. Local advocates had documented 34 arrests by Thursday afternoon, though ICE hadn’t released its own count. The agency defended its work as enforcement of federal immigration law, while a former local sheriff argued that Massachusetts policies limiting cooperation with ICE help explain why agents are operating in the community.
The operation began Monday, September 21st, and continued Tuesday in New Bedford and surrounding South Coast communities. Agents made arrests at multiple locations rather than conducting a single workplace raid. By Wednesday, arrests in New Bedford had subsided, while reports of arrests were coming in from Fall River and Taunton. New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell and Governor Maura Healey demanded more information about those detained, and attorneys began filing petitions on their behalf.
The activity revived memories of a 2007 raid at New Bedford’s Michael Bianco textile factory, which resulted in 361 arrests. Adrian Ventura, who co-founded a local worker organization after that raid, said this was the largest round of immigration arrests in the city since then. The earlier operation focused on one factory following a federal investigation; this week, agents spread across the area. Ventura said those detained included workers in fish processing, retail, auto repair and construction.
By early Thursday afternoon, attorneys and advocates had identified 34 detainees through reports from their families, WBUR reported. Immigration attorney Ondine Galvez Sniffin said the figure could rise because it included only arrests reported to them. ICE didn’t confirm the number or provide a list of those arrested, which left the identities and immigration cases of most detainees unclear in the public reporting.
An ICE spokesperson told Boston.com that the Department of Homeland Security doesn’t discuss ongoing or future operations. “ICE agents uphold our nation’s immigration laws in all 50 states, seven days a week, 24 hours a day,” the spokesperson said. When WBUR asked whether the New Bedford arrests were targeted, ICE supplied information about five convicted criminals arrested in previous Massachusetts operations. Those cases didn’t appear connected to this week’s operation.
Former Bristol County Sheriff Tom Hodgson offered a local defense of the enforcement push. “It’s no surprise because Massachusetts is a sanctuary state,” he told The New Bedford Light. Hodgson argued that restrictions on cooperation between local authorities and ICE lead federal agents to make arrests in the community. He said he’d spoken with White House border adviser Tom Homan, but hadn’t discussed the New Bedford detainees with administration officials.
One arrest in nearby Dartmouth involved a man with a criminal conviction. The New Bedford Light reported that João Ferreira, a Portuguese lawful permanent resident, was convicted in 2009 of two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and sentenced to probation. Charges filed against him in a separate 1992 case were continued without a finding and later closed. Federal authorities began removal proceedings against Ferreira in 2019, though ICE hasn’t stated its reason for arresting him this week.
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Mitchell accused ICE of making “an arbitrary sweep of people” and said some detainees appeared to have immigration documentation. He said city officials had contacted the agency without receiving details about the operation. Healey likewise demanded that ICE identify those arrested and explain why they were taken into custody. Neither official’s criticism established the immigration status or criminal history of all 34 people identified by advocates.
Attorneys sought court orders to prevent the identified detainees from being moved out of Massachusetts while they pursued legal challenges. By Thursday, attorneys said all 34 had received orders requiring ICE to keep them in the state during detention. At least two had been released, and others had been granted habeas petitions leading to bond hearings. ICE had still not published an accounting of the New Bedford operation or the grounds for each arrest.