KEATING DEMANDS ANSWERS ON RECENT ICE RAIDS

Washington, DC – Congressman Bill Keating – who represents Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, and the Town of Plymouth where recent ICE raids were conducted – sent the attached letter to Homeland Security Secretary Noem, ICE Acting Director Lyons, Attorney General Bondi, and FBI Director Patel demanding answers on the way the raids were conducted and who was detained. 

Below is a statement from Congressman Keating about the ongoing situation in the district as well as the text of the letter: 

“As my office continues to work with families of those detained last week and concerned members of the community, I am grateful to the people of Southeastern Massachusetts for rising to support those who, as a result of immigration enforcement actions, have been left feeling confused, afraid, and intimidated.

“While the specifics of the detentions last week on the Islands and in Plymouth still remain less than clear, and ICE has not provided the information I have requested, this Administration has a responsibility to the American public to not only adhere to the rule of law but also to be transparent in their actions. In the wake of these detentions, families did not know where their loved ones had gone and communities were gripped by fear – but the tactics being employed are intentionally designed to do just that. 

“The public has no idea who was detained – or whether they were here legally through temporary protected status or as asylees. The public doesn’t even know whether they were U.S. citizens who were misidentified, or who fit a certain profile and didn’t have identification on them when they were pulled over by masked federal agents. The environment of intimidation and fear fostered by the actions of the Trump Administration reflects on everyone, not just those who are undocumented or foreign-born with legal status. United States citizens are living in fear because of the color of their skin, and the idea of an accidental deportation isn’t far-fetched, it’s already happened this year.

“There are plenty of examples of the misidentification resulting in detention as well as transportation of detainees out of state without their family’s knowledge of their whereabouts. Our founding fathers protected due process rights in the Constitution for a reason. 

“It is also vital to understand the risks created by the administration’s decision to abandon the long-held practice of notifying local law enforcement officials ahead of enforcement actions. Masked, plain-clothed federal agents apprehending people off the street while refusing to identify themselves has caused understandable distress for those detained and the risk of harm to federal agents and local police must be taken into consideration. I join municipal elected officials in the 9^th Congressional District in calling for a return to the practice of notifying local law enforcement ahead of federal actions.

“Whether you’re on Nantucket or Martha’s Vineyard, in New Bedford or Plymouth– or in any community in the United States – you have a right to due process, and you have a right to know you won’t be picked up off the street and disappear into the bureaucratic unaccountability that is ICE under the Trump administration. The emphasis of immigration enforcement should be on facts and following the law, not on increasing the number of arrests. As Donald Trump pardons or commutes the sentences of murderers, gang members, fraudsters, and the more than 1,500 people convicted of crimes at the Capitol on January 6th, including those who assaulted police officers, it should be clear that this administration is not focused on the rule of the law nor on taking criminals off the street. Instead, public comments from Administration officials – including Border Czar Tom Homan just yesterday – confirm that the administration is prioritizing an increase of arrests above anything else. We are a nation built on the rule of law, not the law of a ruler.

“Finally, for anyone who has a loved one that they believe was detained and needs assistance locating them or is concerned about due process, please contact my office for assistance.”  

Full Letter:

Text of the letter to Homeland Security Secretary Noem, ICE Acting Director Lyons, Attorney General Bondi, and FBI Director Patel (with citations removed):

June 2, 2025

Dear Secretary Noem, Attorney General Bondi, Director Patel, and Acting Director Lyons:

I write with deep concerns regarding immigration enforcement actions that have taken place during the week of May 26, 2025, in my district on the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, as well as in the Town of Plymouth. These actions – undertaken by agents of ICE, the FBI, and other federal agencies, many of them masked and in unmarked vehicles – have left these communities scared, confused, and fearful for their own safety, regardless of immigration status. In just one example, the Martha’s Vineyard “Brazil Fest,” slated for June 1st, was cancelled because of “the present climate of fear and intimidation against the immigrant and Brazilian community.”

Per public reporting, at least 20 people were detained on Martha’s Vineyard and 12 from Nantucket while ICE reported in a press release that “around 40” people were detained between the two islands.  Concerned constituents who observed these enforcement actions have contacted my office corroborating news reports that these actions were not narrowly targeted but rather focused on pulling over commercial vehicles. How these specific vehicles were profiled to be pulled over remains an open question that must be answered. In addition, one of the federal agents involved on Martha’s Vineyard is alleged to have displayed a “valknot” tattoo, a symbol co-opted by the white supremacist movement, during a detention.

ICE’s statement noted that the “apprehensions” on the islands included “a documented gang member and at least one child sex offender” but provided no further information on the remaining detainees, and only an estimate of how many were detained. Further, based on reports from the Town of Plymouth, the Tisbury Police Department, and the Oak Bluffs Police Department, neither ICE nor any other federal agency involved followed the past custom of providing a courtesy notification of their presence to local law enforcement. On April 17, 2025, I raised this very issue in a letter to Secretary Noem, Acting Director Lyon, and Director Patel after Mayor Jon Mitchell reported a lack of notification to local police ahead of the violent apprehension of Juan Francisco Mendez in New Bedford, Massachusetts. I have not received a response to that letter, but it should be noted that Mr. Mendez, who had no criminal record, was ordered to be released after four weeks of detention, as the Department of Homeland Security failed to prosecute a case against him. This lack of notification creates great personal risk for all parties involved in these enforcement activities, including detainees, federal agents, local police, and the community at large. The lack of transparency – the failure to notify local law enforcement, the failure to release any concrete information about the detentions, the decision to use unmarked vehicles, plain clothed officers, and masks – is making our communities less safe. 

As a former District Attorney, I intimately understand how staffing disruptions can deeply undermine the speedy and successful closure of ongoing criminal investigations. As mentioned above, numerous reports from my district and across the nation detail ICE actions involving other federal agents wearing identifying uniforms from FBI, ATF, or DEA, among others. I am profoundly concerned that the crucial work of these agencies - work explicitly assigned by Congress - is being jeopardized by the reassignment of their agents to conduct fishing-expedition traffic stops in Massachusetts. The deployment of these agents for immigration purposes must be disrupting ongoing investigations and diverting them from their core missions.

To better understand the circumstances surrounding the immigration enforcement activities that took place in my district, I ask that you provide answers to the following questions no later than June 6, 2025:

1. What methods did ICE agents and other federal agents present employ to determine which vehicles to pull over during their enforcement actions?
   1. Was the physical appearance of the occupants considered while determining whether to stop a vehicle?
2. What steps did federal agents take to determine the legal status of the occupants of each vehicle?
3. What protocols are in place to prevent wrongful detentions?
4. How many vehicles were stopped, and how many of those vehicles were released without a detention?
5. What efforts did ICE take, if any, to notify family members of the apprehension of their loved ones?
6. What efforts did ICE take, if any, to ensure that the children of detainees would not return home from school to find their parents missing without explanation?
7. Which federal agencies participated in the immigration enforcement activities on Martha’s Vineyard during the week of May 26, 2025?
8. How many individuals were detained on Martha’s Vineyard?
9. What were the lodging and transportation costs associated with the Martha’s Vineyard enforcement?
10. Which federal agencies participated in the immigration enforcement activities on Nantucket during the week of May 26, 2025?
11. How many individuals were detained on Nantucket?
12. What were the lodging and transportation costs associated with the Nantucket enforcement?
13. Which federal agencies participated in the immigration enforcement activities in Plymouth during the week of May 26, 2025?
14. How many individuals were detained in Plymouth?
15. Was there a specific reason for choosing to engage in enforcement actions on the islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard on the day after Memorial Day?
16. Were any individuals detained in these actions the target of a warrant or detainer order?
17. Were any local law enforcement officials notified of these actions as has been reported as prior practice? If not, why was this notification not made?
18. What probable cause was there to detain each of the individuals detained on Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, and in Plymouth?
19. Did any of the detainees possess a criminal record that made their presence in the United States a risk to the American people?
20. Does ICE have any policies in place pertaining to tattoos and/or displaying symbols that represent or have been co-opted to represent the white supremacist movement?
21. How many of the detainees possessed a criminal record that made their presence in the United States a risk to the American people? As ICE Boston has already released the names and charges of some detainees, please provide a full list of detainees and any criminal charges.
22. Without disclosing personally identifiable information, provide a list of other federal and state agents - who are not employees of ICE - who participated in the immigration actions taken in my district.
23. Please provide the times and places where these non-ICE agents were trained to conduct immigration enforcement actions.
24. Without disclosing personally identifiable information, please provide documentation of the dates of employment of the ICE officials who participated in the immigration actions.
25. Please provide ICE’s policy on vetting new hires to the agency and how long they must be employed and/or the training required before they can conduct immigration enforcement actions.

I look forward to your prompt response to my inquiries.

Sincerely,

WILLIAM R. KEATING