A Massachusetts police department made a rare decision to comply with a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer for a Brazilian illegal immigrant accused of rape.
Willian Robert Vasconcelos-Dos Santos, a 21-year-old, was arrested by ICE Boston in Falmouth, Massachusetts, following allegations of raping a resident of Massachusetts the previous month.
“Willian Robert Vasconcelos-Dos Santos stands accused of committing a heinous crime against a resident of Massachusetts, posing a significant danger to our communities,” stated Patricia H. Hyde, the acting Field Office Director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston. “We are grateful to the Falmouth District Court for honoring the ICE detainer and facilitating the transfer of Vasconcelos into custody within a secure environment, rather than apprehending him while he was at large. ICE Boston remains committed to safeguarding public safety by apprehending and deporting illegal immigrant criminals from the neighborhoods in New England.”
Vasconcelos-Dos Santos was arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol on April 10, 2024, after he illegally entered the U.S. near San Diego.
Gov. Maura Healey, D-Mass., claimed her state is not a “sanctuary state,” despite a 2017 ruling by the state Supreme Judicial Court that severely limits law enforcement cooperation with ICE. (Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“I still remain opposed on efforts to target large swaths of an undocumented population who’ve done nothing wrong other than they’re here without lawful presence,” she said.
Healey has taken a slightly more centrist position on immigration enforcement in recent months.
After an illegal migrant was caught using the state’s migrant shelter system for illegal activity, Healey said she was “outraged.” She ordered a full inspection of the system and sent a letter to Massachusetts legislative leaders, urging them to amend the state’s “right to shelter” laws to exclude illegal immigrants.
At the time, she commented that Trump now has the opportunity to fix the border and said, “I hope he does.”
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, however, continues to staunchly oppose the Trump administration’s crackdown.
In fact, she took to social media several times last month to express her anger over Trump’s immigration decisions, saying in one X post that “State & local law enforcement cannot be commandeered for federal immigration enforcement. Despite what President Trump may think, he doesn’t have the authority to unilaterally rewrite our Constitution.”
Fox News Digital’s Peter Pinedo, Stephen Sorace and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
