White House press secretary defends ICE actions in Massachusetts

Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald on Sep 8, 2025

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Following the Supreme Court’s decision to clear the way for ICE raids in Los Angeles, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Boston’s legal recourse amid the latest ICE operation has slimmed.

“The federal law enforcement, we absolutely can work and cooperate with local and state law enforcement,” Leavitt said on the Howie Carr show Monday, when asked about the court’s decision and the Boston mayor’s previous indication that legal action may be taken. “That’s what should happen.”

The press secretary’s comments come days after the administration launched “Operation Patriot 2.0” in Massachusetts, surging the number of federal ICE agents conducting immigration arrests in the area.

In response to the ICE surge, Wu spoke out against the operation and said, “we are prepared to take legal action at any evidence” that the agency has violated constitutional, state or local laws.

Gov. Maura Healey said her office was not notified of the surge ahead of time and called the operation a “political power grab and an attempt to intimidate” in an MSNBC appearance Sunday.

Leavitt spoke critically about Wu and Healey’s remarks on Monday. Responding to Healey, she cited drops in crime during the National Guard deployment in D.C., calling it a “template for what President Trump wants to bring to cities across the country.”

The ICE operation has not included a National Guard presence, and Healey has previously said there is “no need to federalize the Massachusetts National Guard.”

Leavitt was asked about the Supreme Court ruling Tuesday, which overturned a lower court’s restraining order preventing “roving patrols” of federal law enforcement from stopping people solely based on their race, language, job or location.

Asked if the ruling has left Wu and Boston without “many options” in terms of legal recourse amid the ICE raids, Leavitt said “that’s right.”

“And if Mayor Wu took just a second out of her day to stop appeasing the radical leftists and to actually speak with the brave-minded women of the Boston PD and of local law enforcement in our surrounding communities in the suburbs, she would know that they want the federal government’s help,” Leavitt argued.

The press secretary cited two examples of people allegedly in the country illegally who were arrested by ICE with criminal records. The surge reportedly resulted in over 100 arrests over the weekend, ICE officials said, following nearly 1,500 arrests during the initial operation in May.

Federal officials have not stated which areas in Massachusetts will be targeted, how many agents are involved in the state, or how long it will last. “Border Czar” Tom Homan indicated Sunday there are plans to spread the ICE surge, saying people “can expect action in most sanctuary cities across the country.”

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