Tom Homan slams calls to abolish ICE as border enforcement hits records
Border czar Tom Homan is pushing back forcefully against progressive calls to abolish ICE, arguing that the agency’s enforcement work has reached historic levels and remains essential to public safety. Homan pointed to recent record arrests and deportations, saying 70% of those detained are convicted criminals, and underscored ICE’s role in rescuing more than 150,000 smuggled children as he warned of the risks of dismantling the agency.
A Brazilian national wanted for aggravated murder in his home country was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Massachusetts just two days before Democratic Gov. Maura Healey signed legislation restricting certain ICE operations across the state.
Maycon Souto Dos Reis, 54, was convicted of aggravated murder in Brazil on Sept. 14, 2024, and sentenced to 14 years and three months in prison, with an arrest warrant issued in connection with the case. According to ICE, Dos Reis fled Brazil and illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in June 2024, where he was apprehended and later released into the United States under then-President Joe Biden’s border policies.
“This is yet another example of what the media often characterizes as a non-criminal, when in reality, many of these individuals are murderers, sexual predators, gang members and more: They simply do not have a criminal record in the United States,” acting ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston Field Office Director David Wesling wrote in a statement.
ICE Boston arrested Maycon Souto Dos Reis, described by the agency as a criminal illegal alien and foreign fugitive from Brazil, during targeted operations Aug. 3 at Westborough District Court in Westborough. (ICE ERO Boston)
“We will continue to pursue these dangerous criminal aliens that sanctuary politicians fight to protect.”
The Aug. 3 arrest in the Boston area came shortly before Healey signed the PROTECT Act on Aug. 5. The law bars ICE activity in courthouses, schools, child care centers, hospitals and other health care facilities, strengthens protections for parents who may be detained or deported, prohibits new 287(g) agreements and permits civil rights claims against government officials, including ICE agents.
“The PROTECT Act is the strongest law in the country to protect people from ICE, because no one should be afraid to send their child to school, seek medical care or fear reporting a crime or appearing in court,” Healey wrote Aug. 5 in a statement announcing the new limits on ICE operations in Massachusetts.
“It makes us all less safe. So we are getting ICE out of our courthouses, schools and hospitals. This bill is a testament to the hard work and advocacy of so many people across our state. We’re going to keep working together to make Massachusetts and this country the place we all want it to be.”
Democrat Gov. Maura Healey’s Aug. 5 signing of the PROTECT Act, which keeps ICE out of courthouses, schools, child care centers, hospitals and healthcare facilities. (Lane Turner/The Boston Globe)
Dos Reis initially came to ERO Boston’s attention following his May 29 arrest for unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in Southborough, Massachusetts.
ICE officers arrested him Aug. 3 during a targeted operation at Westborough District Court in Westborough.
ICE officials said Dos Reis had been living in Massachusetts, which has been at the center of clashes between state and federal officials over immigration enforcement. The agency characterized the jurisdiction as one where local policies can complicate federal efforts to locate and arrest immigration offenders.
ICE did not provide additional details about the aggravated murder case in Brazil, including when the killing occurred or the circumstances surrounding Dos Reis’ conviction.
He remains in ICE custody pending the outcome of deportation proceedings, the agency said.
“DHS’s message is clear: If you come to our country illegally and break our laws, we will find you, arrest you, and you will never return,” ICE wrote in a release Monday, hailing President Donald Trump and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s actions to protect legal American citizens.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the United States.”
