ICE Chief Defends Agency Tactics Amid Nationwide Surge in Arrests

Immigration Official Defends Tactics Amid Rising Arrests Nationwide

BOSTON (AP) — The head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has defended his agency’s tactics against criticism of being too heavy-handed, as arrests surge nationwide in line with President Donald Trump’s promises of mass deportations.

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria expressed deep concern over an ICE operation at a popular Italian restaurant, which led to a chaotic scene with smoke bombs and agents in heavy tactical gear facing an angry crowd. Todd Lyons, ICE’s acting director, explained that officers wear masks due to death threats and online harassment.

“I’m sorry if people are offended by them wearing masks, but I’m not going to let my officers and agents go out there and put their lives on the line, their family on the line because people don’t like what immigration enforcement is,” Lyons said during a news conference in Boston, where he announced nearly 1,500 arrests in the region as part of a month-long “surge operation.”

Lyons addressed the criticism of masks, questioning whether the issue was about the masks or the labeling of ICE officers’ families as terrorists, possibly referencing comments by San Diego Councilman Sean Elo-Rivera, who called ICE officers “terrorists” after the restaurant raid.

The Department of Homeland Security condemned Elo-Rivera’s comments, calling the likening of ICE to terrorists “sickening.” Despite this, other elected officials, including Gloria and U.S. Rep. Scott Peters, criticized ICE and the Republican White House, arguing that such federal actions undermine trust and create fear in the community.

ICE did not comment on the operation at Buona Forchetta in San Diego, but the restaurant’s owners announced they would close their Southern California locations for two days, expressing heartbreak over the incident.

Lyons reported that ICE was averaging about 1,600 arrests a day, significantly higher than previous data. Stephen Miller, a key architect of Trump’s immigration policy, set a goal of 3,000 arrests a day, though this would be challenging with current funding. Lyons suggested that operations like the Massachusetts surge wouldn’t be necessary if “sanctuary cities would change their policy.”

In a separate raid, state, local, and federal authorities arrested 66 people at a South Carolina nightclub popular with drug dealers. The operation took place during a “cartel after-party,” according to Cardell Morant, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in South Carolina and North Carolina.