Skip Navigation

News Releases

June 20, 2007

ICE operation targeting criminal aliens arrests 18 on Nantucket
Most arrested had criminal records, all unlawfully present in the country

BOSTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, Nantucket Police officers and members of the U.S. Coast Guard today participated in an enforcement operation on Nantucket Island arresting 18 foreign nationals whose criminal histories, orders of removal, or immigration status made them subject to removal. 

The operation targeted foreign national criminals with histories that include narcotics offenses, assault & battery, possession of a dangerous weapon, and larceny.  Other fugitives and immigration status violators encountered during the search for the criminals were also detained and are being placed in removal proceedings.

“Today’s enforcement action was first and foremost a public safety operation,” said Bruce M. Foucart, special agent in charge of ICE’s Office of Investigations in Boston.  “These arrests resulted from a collaborative effort between ICE and our federal, state and local partners to protect public safety from criminals who potentially threaten the security of our communities and have forfeited the privilege of remaining in the country.”

  • 16 of the 18 arrested have criminal histories

  • Six of the 18 also had final orders of removal from the United States from an immigration judge and have failed to comply with the order making them fugitives, including one who illegally re-entered the country after deportation.

  • Two were other immigration status violators unlawfully present in the country and now face removal proceedings.

This public safety operation is part of the nationwide interior enforcement strategy announced earlier this year by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and ICE Assistant Secretary Julie L. Myers.  A critical element of that strategy is to identify, locate and remove criminal aliens, fugitives and other immigration violators from the United States.

The interior enforcement strategy is part of the Department of Homeland Security’s broader Secure Border Initiative (SBI), a multi-year plan to secure America’s borders through the deployment of additional personnel and technology, while re-engineering the detention and removal system to ensure that illegal aliens are removed from the country quickly.

ICE removed 196,707 aliens from the United States in fiscal year 2006, as compared to 173,651 in fiscal year 2005.  For this fiscal year, starting Oct. 1, 2006 through June 17 ICE has removed 176,725 aliens.

ICE received assistance in the operation from the Nantucket Police Department, the U.S Coast Guard, and task force officers from the Essex and Middlesex County Sheriff’s Departments.

SAC Foucart further stated, “I would like to give special thanks to our sister DHS agency, the U.S. Coast Guard for their support during this operation.  Their support was instrumental to the success of this operation.”

-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.

  Last Modified: