Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Boston, Massachusetts, reportedly claimed that illegal immigrant offenders were being put back on the streets after being slapped with “ridiculously low bail” despite the fact that the charges against them included violent sex crimes involving children, according to Fox News reporter Bill Melugin.
Melugin shared details uncovered in a CBS Boston investigation that he said proved those allegations to be true.
“NEW: CBS looked into ICE Boston claims that illegal aliens charged w/ child rape in MA are repeatedly being released from jail w/ ridiculously low bail. They found that yes, they are, including the following in recent months,” Melugin began before laying out a partial list of what had been discovered: “Guatemalan charged w/ 3 counts of aggravated child rape released on $7,500 bail. (ICE detainer ignored); Guatemalan charged w/ aggravated child rape, (victim age 9 or below) released on $7,500 bail. (ICE detainer ignored); Honduran charged w/ assault to rape & masked armed robbery released on his own recognizance with $0 bail. (ICE detainer ignored); Worcester County had two illegal alien inmates charged w/ child rape who both received $500 bails; Another was charged w/ fentanyl trafficking and released on $4,000 bond before ICE could arrive.”
NEW: CBS looked into ICE Boston claims that illegal aliens charged w/ child rape in MA are repeatedly being released from jail w/ ridiculously low bail. They found that yes, they are, including the following in recent months:
– Guatemalan charged w/ 3 counts of aggravated child…
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) March 23, 2025
Border czar Tom Homan had put a spotlight on Boston during the Conservative Political Action Conference, telling Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox, “You’re not a police commissioner. Take that badge off your chest. Put it in the desk drawer.”
Homan said at the time that Boston authorities were releasing illegal immigrant offenders back into the community despite ICE detainers ordering them to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
A Massachusetts state law barring illegal immigrants from being held solely on the basis of their immigration status has muddied the waters some, especially after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in 2017 that illegal immigrant offenders could not be held once they posted bail — even if there was an ICE detainer involved — pursuant to that law (Lunn v. Commonwealth).
“Massachusetts law provides no authority for Massachusetts court officers to arrest and hold an individual solely on the basis of a Federal civil immigration detainer, beyond the time that the individual would otherwise be entitled to be released from State custody,” the ruling stated.
