Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were seen making arrests and pulling people over on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket on Tuesday with the help of other federal agencies, such as the FBI, according to local news reports.
On Martha’s Vineyard, ICE agents were seen making traffic stops in unmarked vehicles Tuesday, May 27, MassLive’s media partner, the Vineyard Gazette, reported. One video shared on social media showed a masked officer talking to a driver in an L&R Electrical Services van.
Thiago Alves, owner of Rhode Island-based L&R Electrical Services, confirmed to the newspaper that one of his workers was stopped by ICE and FBI agents. His employee — who he said has a green card — was questioned, then released.
“They questioned my guys looking for paperwork,” Alves said.
Other trade workers on the island were also stopped by immigration officers on Tuesday, Alves told the Gazette.
“My guy said they are stopping all the work vans. It’s nothing against [us], it’s pretty much everyone,” he said.
One Martha’s Vineyard woman, who asked to be anonymous for fear of reprisal, told the Gazette that she saw multiple traffic stops and arrests by federal law enforcement while agents driving around Vineyard Haven Tuesday morning.
“They were just grabbing people out of their cars,” she said.
On Nantucket, several people were seen being taken off the island via a U.S. Coast Guard cutter in handcuffs, MassLive’s media partner, The Inquirer and Mirror, reported Tuesday.
ICE spokesperson James Covington confirmed to the newspaper that agents were on the island on Tuesday, but would not comment on the number of arrests or reveal other details about the ongoing operation.
An FBI spokesperson also confirmed that agents were assisting ICE on Nantucket on Tuesday.
The Nantucket Police Department was aware the operation was going to take place but did not assist federal agents in any way, Lt. Angus MacVicar said Tuesday.
“We were notified [Monday] that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (I.C.E) would be arriving today. We were not asked to support their operation in any way or have we assisted today,” MacVicar said in a statement.
