Brockton Dem Spills the Beans on ICE Raid Rumor

Printed from: https://newbostonpost.com/2017/03/28/brockton-dem-spills-the-beans-on-ice-raid-rumor/

A Democratic state representative whose district includes Brockton drew the ire of a South Coast law enforcement leader on Tuesday when she took to social media to tip off readers about a rumored federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation.

In a post to her Facebook account, state Representative Michelle DuBois wrote Tuesday morning that she received “the following information from a friend in the Latin community.”

“I have a message for the immigrant community of Brockton,” DuBois wrote. “Please be careful on Wednesday [March] 29. ICE will be in Brockton on that day. If you are undocumented don’t go out on the street. If there is a knock on the door of your house and you don’t know who it is, don’t open the door. I ask you to be careful.”

DuBois’s post dropped on the same day that Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson testified in Washington D.C., before the House Judiciary Committee regarding so-called “sanctuary cities,” the term used to describe cities that have directed their local police departments to refrain from working with ICE to detain illegal immigrants.

Hodgson in his testimony said that city leaders who skirt federal laws by turning a blind eye to illegal immigration should face repercussions.

“Longstanding immigration law is crystal clear. It’s a jailable offense to harbor or conceal criminal illegal aliens from ICE,” Hodgson said at one point during the hearing. “Those that do so and obstruct federal law enforcement should be arrested and charged.”

Hodgson’s office later called out DuBois on social media:

DuBois’s initial post drew a firestorm of comments, especially after the story first broke on the Worcester-based blog Turtleboy Sports, especially after she refused to debate with her followers:

As DuBois’s post drew more and more attention, the Brockton Democrat elaborated on her position and attempted to make the case that her circulation will actually help ICE conduct its operation.

Update:  It is obvious that this post has touched off a lot of controversy,” DuBois wrote. “To be clear: I am just forwarding a rumor that is all over Brockton. Actually I’m helping ICE to know (if they didn’t already) that the raids they are planning are already known about in the City.”

DuBois’s attempt at a clarification apparently drew more criticism, prompting her to post again:

 

Hodgson, whose jurisdiction includes Brockton, made national headlines in January when he suggested that inmates in Bristol County could help build President Donald Trump’s planned wall along the Mexican border.

Hodgson in his testimony later elaborated on his disgust over DuBois’s decision to post a rumor regarding a potential ICE raid, although he did not identify her by name.

“I want to just inform the committee on something that was reported this morning, that I think completely underscores my point about immigration laws being undermined in the United States,” Hodgson told committee members, breaking from reading his prepared testimony. “We have a state representative in the 10th Plymouth District in Massachusetts who learned that ICE may be coming to the city of Brockton.

“[She] sent an all-alert message out on Facebook telling everyone that ICE is going to be coming.

“This is the most outrageous thing and I think it is an example of what is going on across the United States. It’s undermining my job, and every other law enforcement officer in the United States, to keep our communities safe, and that elected official is responsible for protecting the welfare of the people in her communities.

[That official] needs to understand that they can be protecting someone that ICE is looking for that is possibly connected to terrorism, transnational gangs or some other horrific criminal history.”

Meanwhile, more dust-ups occurred on social media, with Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone mixing it up with former WEEI morning host John Dennis. Curtatone is a Democrat who happens to be the mayor of one of the first cities in America to adopt sanctuary policies:

WATCH — Hodgson mentions Facebook post in House testimony: