The Defense Department (DOD) is starting a voluntary program for its civilian employees to go to the southern border to support Department of Homeland Security (DHS) efforts there. 

The agency released a memo Monday authorizing its civilian employees to volunteer to travel and support border operations. 

NOEM MAKES AGGRESSIVE NEW MOVE TO RAMP UP ARRESTS, DEPORTATIONS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

“Protecting our homeland from bad actors and illegal substances has been a focus of the President and of the Secretary of Defense since Day One of this Administration,” said Sean Parnell, chief Pentagon spokesperson. “Whether on the border or in our communities, allowing qualified DoD civilian employees to support DHS will accelerate the progress already made by Service members in achieving our national security goals.”

This voluntary program was at the request of DHS, a U.S. official told Fox News.

NOEM, DHS OUTLINE NEXT STEP TO SPEED UP DEPORTATION PROCESS

It was not clear how many DOD civilian employees are expected to volunteer or what kind of work they will do. Fox News Digital has reached out to the DOD and DHS. 

The memo, authored by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, reads, “Detail assignments may be either reimbursable or non-reimbursable.

US MILITARY STATIONED AT THE BORDER IN NEW MEXICO NATIONAL DEFENSE AREA CAN DETAIN ILLEGAL MIGRANTS

“Non-reimbursable details are authorized where the expected benefit of a detail would be comparable to training or development programs that otherwise would be conducted at a DoD Component’s expense.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

News of the voluntary program comes as the Trump administration continues to crack down on illegal immigration and target criminal illegal immigrants for deportation. 

The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) announced on Monday that it is recognizing June as “Title IX Month.”

The announcement came in honor of the 53rd anniversary of Title IX of the Educational Amendments (1972) being signed into law. The official date is June 23.

“June will now be dedicated to commemorating women and celebrating their struggle for, and achievement of, equal educational opportunity,” the DOE said in a release. “Throughout the month, the Department will highlight actions taken to reverse the Biden Administration’s legacy of undermining Title IX and announce additional actions to protect women in line with the true purpose of Title IX.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

“By prohibiting sex-based discrimination in federally funded programs, #TitleIX opened countless athletic & academic opportunities for women & girls across the country. This month, we celebrate Title IX’s 53rd anniversary & will take more action to protect women’s hard-earned rights,” the DOE added in an X post.

U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement of her own, “The Department is recognizing June as ‘Title IX Month’ to honor women’s hard-earned civil rights and demonstrate the Trump Administration’s unwavering commitment to restoring them to the fullest extent of the law. 

“Title IX provides women protections on the basis of sex in all educational activities, which include their rights to equal opportunity in sports and sex-segregated intimate spaces, including sororities and living accommodations,” she continued. “This Administration will fight on every front to protect women’s and girls’ sports, intimate spaces, dormitories and living quarters, and fraternal and panhellenic organizations.” 

The move comes days after trans athletes in different states recently dominated their competition. 

In Minnesota, a softball pitcher, born a male, led Champlin Park High School to the state tournament with the help of a shutout in the section final on Thursday.

FOOTAGE SHOWS LGBTQ PROTESTER ATTACKING CONSERVATIVE AT CALIFORNIA TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP AMID TRANS ATHLETE DRAMA

On Saturday, just days after President Donald Trump sent a warning to California about letting a male compete in girls’ track and field, the state allowed a trans athlete, AB Hernandez, to take two state titles against female competitors. 

In another track meet on Saturday, this one in Oregon, two high school seniors, Reese Eckard of Sherwood High School and Alexa Anderson of Tigard High School, stepped down from their respective spots on the podium next to a trans athlete who represented Ida B. Wells High School. 

In Washington, transgender competitor Veronica Garcia won the 400-meter state championship for the second straight season.

With the announcement came “Title IX Month initiatives,” one of which is an investigation into the University of Wyoming and Jefferson County Public Schools in Colorado for “allegedly allowing males to join and live in female-only intimate and communal spaces,” the DOE said. 

Several other states have defied Trump’s executive order on the issue, resulting in Maine temporarily losing federal funding.

Fox News’ Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Paperwork with the word “USAID” was found in the car of Mohamed Sabry Soliman, who’s accused of allegedly throwing explosives at a group in Boulder, Colorado, peacefully protesting for the release of Hamas’ hostages.

The incident happened on Sunday as the pro-Israel group “Run for Their Lives” was protesting on Pearl Street. Boulder police said eight people were injured in the alleged terror attack, adding that they initially received reports of a man setting people on fire.

According to an arrest affidavit, law enforcement officials found paperwork with the words “USAID” inside Soliman’s 2015 silver Toyota Prius. Other paperwork with the words “Israel” and “Palestine” was also allegedly found inside the Toyota Prius, in addition to a red gas container and rags.

A senior State Department official told Fox News Digital that Soliman isn’t a United States Agency for International Development employee.

Soliman allegedly told federal and local law enforcement officials during an interview that he specifically targeted a “Zionist group” that gathered in Boulder on June 1 because he wanted to stop them from taking over “our land,” which he said is “Palestine.” Soliman allegedly said he was planning the attack for a year, adding he waited until his daughter graduated.

BOULDER TERROR ATTACK SUSPECT SAID HE WANTED TO KILL ‘ALL ZIONIST PEOPLE,’ USED MOLOTOV COCKTAILS: FEDS

“He specifically targeted the ‘Zionist Group’ that had gathered in Boulder having learned about the group from an online search,” the affidavit stated.

According to the document, he left messages to his family, a journal and an iPhone at his house in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Soliman told law enforcement officials that he would conduct the attack again, authorities said.

A black plastic container was found near the location Soliman was arrested, which contained “at least” 14 unlit Molotov cocktails, according to the affidavit.

Soliman was charged with murder in the first degree – deliberation with intent; murder in the first degree – extreme indifference; crimes against at-risk adults/elderly; first-degree assault – non-family; first-degree assault – heat of passion; criminal attempt to commit class one and class two felonies; and use of explosives or incendiary devices during felony.

READ THE FEDERAL CHARGING DOCS:

ALLEGED BOULDER TERRORIST OVERSTAYED VISA, GRANTED WORK PERMIT BY BIDEN ADMINISTRATION

Soliman remains in jail on a $10 million bond. He was allegedly heard yelling, “Free Palestine.”

According to sources who spoke with Fox News, Soliman was in the United States illegally and is an Egyptian national.

Soliman first came to the U.S. on Aug. 27, 2022 on a B1/B2 non-immigrant visa that expired on Feb. 26, 2023, but he didn’t leave.

Soliman filed a claim with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services on March 29, 2023, which authorized him to work through March 2025.

FBI director Kash Patel described the incident as a terror attack in a post on X.

“We are aware of and fully investigating a targeted terror attack in Boulder, Colorado,” FBI director Kash Patel said. “Our agents and local law enforcement are on the scene already, and we will share updates as more information becomes available.”

Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report.

A zebra remains on the loose after the animal escaped from its owners in Tennessee over the weekend, authorities said. 

The owners “obtained” the zebra on Friday night and reported it missing on Saturday, the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office said. 

However, the distinct black-and-white-striped animal escaped into a wooded area off Interstate 24, where it was “wreaking havoc,” between Joe B. Jackson Parkway and the Epps Mill Road exits on Saturday afternoon, the sheriff’s office said. 

RUNAWAY KANGAROO SHUTS DOWN ALABAMA INTERSTATE HIGHWAY

Deputy Ryan Keach located the zebra near the interstate and shut down one lane of traffic for travelers’ safety, the sheriff’s office told Fox News Digital. 

“After the zebra crossed the interstate, deputies closed both the eastbound lanes toward Chattanooga and the westbound lanes toward Nashville,” the agency said. 

UTAH DRIVER INJURED AFTER SMASHING INTO TURKEY ON THE INTERSTATE, SENDING IT THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD

At the time, the zebra caused chaos on the freeway because it was running through traffic on both sides of the highway, authorities said. 

The sheriff’s office didn’t say how or where the owners got the zebra, or where it was being housed at the time of its escape. 

Deion Sanders is calling BS on reports about his son in his meetings with NFL teams ahead of the draft.

In the days leading up to the draft, it was reported that Shedeur Sanders flopped in meetings, with one exec saying it was the “worst” and that he was “entitled.”

Other reports circulated that he was unprepared and nonchalant in the interviews – and it turned into an unprecedented slide that saw a possible top-three player fall all the way to the fifth round.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Well, Coach Prime said that he felt the negative rumors came about because people “were afraid that I would go to the NFL” from Colorado.

“They want to create these narratives and create these stories and then attach them to a kid that ain’t never did nothing wrong,” Sanders said on Asante Samuel’s “Say What Needs To Be Said” podcast. “Stop lying. You gotta understand – my kids are built for everything… We’ve always been in front of the camera, so they know how to navigate, they know how to handle themselves, you’re not gonna catch them in no foolery or no mess. 

LIONS PRO BOWL CENTER FRANK RAGNOW ANNOUNCES SURPRISE RETIREMENT AFTER 7 SEASONS

“When you sit up there and say something like he went into a meeting unprepared, like, dude. Shedeur Sanders? Who has had six different [offensive] coordinators, who has still functioned and leveled up every time we brought somebody new in, and you’re going to tell me he was unprepared? You’re going to tell me he had on headphones? Anybody who knows my son understands he’s a professional. He’s going to go into a meeting with headphones on? Y’all, come on now.”

“It did hurt,” Sanders continued. “But the Bible says God uses the foolish things to confound the wise. There was some foolish stuff that went on, but that gave them something that they needed. Like that edge that Tom [Brady] had, it gave them the edge that you had, it gave them the edge that I have. Folks said we weren’t gonna be nothing. But we had to prove that. It gave them the edge that they needed. Both of them.”

Coach Prime offered a similar sentiment late last month when he called out “false rumors.”

“Let’s Stop Lying today, tomorrow and the next day. Stop also trafficking false rumors or stories that don’t involve not 1 witness that will stand by the story they told privately in order for it to circulate publicly,” Sanders wrote on X.

Eventually, the Cleveland Browns selected Sanders, but not before selecting Dillon Gabriel in the third round. The rookies make up 40% of the quarterback room which also includes Deshaun Watson, Joe Flacco, and Kenny Pickett.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Justice is demanding that California’s public high schools confirm by next week that they do not allow transgender athletes to compete in girls’ sports, escalating a federal inquiry into the state over its compliance with Title IX.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who heads the DOJ Civil Rights Division, said in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital that public school districts must “certify in writing” by June 9 that they will not abide by the California Interscholastic Federation’s gender identity rules.

“Knowingly depriving female students of athletic opportunities and benefits on the basis of their sex would constitute unconstitutional sex discrimination under the Equal Protection Clause,” Dhillon wrote in the letter.

CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOLER BEGS STATE OFFICIALS TO BAN TRANS ATHLETES FROM GIRLS’ SPORTS AT CONTENTIOUS MEETING

The California Interscholastic Federation governs public and private high school sports in the state and has a bylaw that requires its members to recognize gender identity in sports.

All students should be able to participate in school sports “in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on a student’s records,” the bylaw states.

Dhillon, a former California-based conservative attorney, said the certifications she is seeking from the public school districts will “ensure compliance” with Title IX and help them to “avoid legal liability.”

Her demand pits public school districts against the California Interscholastic Federation, the entity that schools are required to comply with to participate in state sports competitions.

DOJ INTERVENING IN CALIFORNIA TRANS ATHLETE CONTROVERSY AS TRUMP MONITORS GIRLS’ TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIP

Fox News Digital reached out to the California Interscholastic Federation’s executive director for comment.

Dhillon’s move comes after she and the U.S. attorney for the Central District of California announced last week that they were investigating the California Interscholastic Federation and other public entities over whether the state’s laws conflicted with Trump’s interpretation of Title IX.

When Trump took office, he ordered federal agencies to enforce Title IX in a manner that excluded gender identity after the Biden administration attempted to reinterpret the statute.

Title IX, passed in 1972, is a landmark civil rights law designed to prevent sex discrimination in schools. Former President Barack Obama made the first, albeit unenforceable, attempt to reinterpret Title IX at the end of his term by directing schools that received federal funds to allow transgender students to use bathrooms and participate in sports that corresponded to their gender identities.

Trump quashed those efforts in his first term and, in coordination with former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, began a lengthy process of creating new rules within the Education Department to require schools to adhere to the long-held meaning of Title IX.

Former President Joe Biden made embracing gender identity and reimagining Title IX a pillar of his presidency by moving to unravel the Trump administration’s new rules. Biden was, however, met with numerous injunctions and never able to get his version of Title IX off the ground.

TRUMP DOJ, EDUCATION DEPT FORM TASK FORCE TO PROTECT FEMALE ATHLETES FROM ‘GENDER IDEOLOGY’ IN SCHOOLS, SPORTS

Now, Trump has aggressively sought to enforce his first term’s rules. He signed a string of executive orders focused on, as one order described it, the “biological reality of sex,” and his agencies have sent demand letters and opened federal inquiries into states that are resistant to the administration’s efforts.

In addition to targeting California, the DOJ sued Maine over Title IX, arguing that its state Education Department was out of compliance with federal law, citing a transgender athlete who won a girls’ pole-vaulting competition in February.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, has downplayed the matter, telling local news at one point that there were “like two” transgender athletes in her state.

Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom, meanwhile, has shown an openness to Trump’s position that transgender athletes competing in girls’ sports is unfair, to the chagrin of some of Newsom’s liberal base.

Newsom also recently said he supported a new pilot initiative by the California Interscholastic Federation to allow any female track and field athlete who would have qualified for an upcoming state championship to compete if they had been displaced by a transgender athlete.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called out CBS “Face the Nation” anchor Margaret Brennan on Sunday for warning in March that Trump administration tariffs on imported goods would raise prices for American consumers after inflation cooled to a four-year low in April.

During an interview on Sunday, the CBS anchor again challenged Bessent to respond to the economic concerns President Donald Trump‘s tariffs posed to consumers, but Bessent argued that “alarmist” predictions about inflation increasing had been wrong before. 

“Everything has been alarmist, that the inflation numbers are actually dropping,” he said, referring to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics report showing that the inflation rate fell to 2.3% in April, the lowest level in over four years.

Brennan pressed Bessent about retail giants like Walmart and Target weighing price hikes due to the uncertainty surrounding the tariffs.

TRUMP OFFICIAL CLASHES WITH CBS HOST ABOUT IF ADMINISTRATION USED AI TO MAKE TARIFF POLICY

“When you go back-to-school shopping, things are going to cost more,” Brennan told Bessent.

Bessent disagreed, saying retailers like Home Depot have said they don’t plan to raise prices in response to the tariffs.

Brennan insisted consumers would feel economic pain from Trump’s strategy. She quoted from a Wall Street Journal opinion piece by Karl Rove warning that companies like Walmart would not be able to break even if they couldn’t absorb the tariff costs.

“But, for consumers, the reality is, there will either be less inventory or things at higher prices, or both,” she said.

Bessent reminded Brennan that in March, when he previously appeared on “Face the Nation,” she had reported that tariffs could lead to inflation.

TRUMP TARIFF PLAN FACES UNCERTAIN FUTURE AS COURT BATTLES INTENSIFY

“Margaret, when we were here in March, you said there was going to be big inflation. There hasn’t been any inflation,” Bessent retorted. “Actually, the inflation numbers are the best in four years. So why don’t we stop trying to say this could happen and wait and see what does happen?”

“Just trying to gauge for people planning ahead here,” Brennan replied before moving on to ask about how much Trump’s recent announcement that he was doubling the tariffs on steel would impact the construction industry.

During that March interview, Brennan cited a study from the think tank, The Peterson Institute, predicting that Trump’s then-10% tariffs on China and 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico would cost U.S. households an additional $1,200 a year.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE

Brennan previously clashed with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement during an April interview where she asked whether “AI” was used to craft the tariff announcement.

Trump’s tariff strategy faced legal challenges last week after a federal court ruled unanimously to block the sweeping tariffs he imposed on dozens of countries.

The U.S. Court of International Trade ruled Wednesday that Trump overstepped his authority to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

On Thursday, a federal appeals court temporarily paused the lower court’s ruling, allowing the policy to stay put as the legal battle plays out, according to Reuters.

Hundreds of the University of Michigan’s iconic peonies were reportedly cut in an act of vandalism – apparently perpetrated by at least one unidentified pro-Palestinian agitator.

The Ann Arbor school’s W.E. Upjohn Peony Garden, located in Nichols Arboretum, is home to North America’s largest collection of historic herbaceous peonies, according to The Associated Press – and it boasts about 800 plants with 10,000 flowers at peak bloom.

However, about 250 – or one-third of them – were found Sunday morning with most of their flowers cut off.

ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS TORCH DIPLOMAS OUTSIDE COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY ON GRADUATION DAY

While no group has taken credit for the gratuitous act of destruction, according to the university’s Division of Public Safety & Security (DPSS), papers found around the site outlined the apparent motive.

“Plant lives don’t matter. Human lives do,” the papers read in part. “Stop the war. Resist Imperialism.”

“Palestinian lives deserve to be cared for. More than these flowers,” they continue. “Don’t waste your tears on the peonies. They are not even dead and will grow again next spring.”

“Make no mistake, the criminal tactics used in the recent act of vandalism at Nichols Arboretum are wholly unacceptable,” read a statement by the university.

“We unequivocally condemn the destruction of property and any act of vandalism on our campus,” the statement continued. “Damaging a beloved community space intended to foster reflection and bring hope to the whole community is counter productive. We urge all community members to channel their voices through constructive and meaningful dialogue.”

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN PRESIDENT’S HOME SPRAY-PAINTED WITH ANTI-ISRAEL MESSAGES: ‘INTIFADA’

UMich is no stranger to acts of vandalism by anti-Israel agitators – university President Santa Ono’s home and the surrounding area were spray-painted with the words “intifada” and “coward” in October.

The Upjohn Garden incident also transpired on the same day as an alleged terrorist attack on a pro-Israel demonstration in Boulder, Colorado, that left multiple people injured.

The suspect, Mohamad Sabry Soliman, “stated that he wanted to kill all Zionist people,” according to a federal complaint.

The DPSS is actively investigating the matter, which the school describes as a “criminal incident.”

A Public Affairs representative for the university declined to comment further on the incident when reached by Fox News Digital.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is coordinating with his colleagues in the House to push back against Senate Republicans’ efforts to ram President Donald Trump’s wish list of policy desires through the Senate.

In a letter to Senate Democrats on Sunday, Schumer, D-N.Y., laid out a multipronged strategy to inflict as much pain on Republicans as possible in the budget reconciliation process, the legislative strategy the GOP is employing to sidestep negotiating with Democrats to advance the president’s priorities.

SENATE REPUBLICANS EYE CHANGES TO TRUMP’S MEGABILL AFTER HOUSE WIN

While congressional Republicans don’t need Democrats to move the colossal bill to Trump’s desk, Schumer wants to make the process as uncomfortable as possible as Senate Republicans begin a roughly monthlong sprint to put their fingerprints on what Trump deemed a “big, beautiful bill.”

The top Senate Democrat is coordinating with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and the top Democrats on crucial House committees to “share firsthand insight from their process and key Republican fault lines” with their Senate counterparts.

“Based on Senate Republicans’ public comments, it’s clear that if this reckless reconciliation bill passes the Senate it is very likely to contain changes, forcing it to be sent back to the House of Representatives,” Schumer wrote. “That’s why we must be united with our House Democratic colleagues to fight this assault on working families.”

Indeed, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said much of the debate and subsequent tweaks to the bill would focus on finding deeper spending cuts. The House’s offering set a goal of $1.5 trillion in spending cuts over the next decade, but some Senate Republicans want to hit $2 trillion, while a smaller cohort of fiscal hawks want to go even deeper.

DEMS CALL BUDGET BILL ‘BUREAUCRATIC WATER TORTURE’ AS GOP ‘GLAD TO HAVE THE BALL IN OUR COURT’

Thune said that Republicans’ main focus during the next month would be ensuring that Trump’s first-term tax cuts are made permanent with the massive bill and not allowed to expire by the end of the year on the Senate floor, marking the Senate’s return on Monday. 

“We are not going to let that happen, and our biggest focus this month is completing this tax relief legislation with the goal of getting the final bill to the president before the Fourth of July,” he said. “It’s going to be a very busy month, Mr. President.” 

In all, 10 Senate committees will be tasked with sifting through the massive bill’s contents, which include the president’s policy desires on taxes, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt.

FETTERMAN DEFIES ‘PUNITIVE’ PUNISHMENT FOR BREAKING WITH DEMOCRATIC PARTY DURING BIPARTISAN DISCUSSION

Schumer’s edict comes as those committees gear up to make their own revisions to the bill to, in part, fall in line with their own policy and spending desires and to also comply with Senate rules.

He noted that Senate Democrats have been working “overtime” to target a litany of policies in the GOP’s plan that “are in clear violation of the reconciliation rules and, in some cases, an assault on our very democracy.”

Some Republicans already have issues with certain policies in the bill, like cuts to Medicaid or the plan to move up the timeline to phase out green energy tax credits ushered in by the Biden administration.

Schumer also prodded Democrats to continue aggressively denouncing the bill on the ground in their home states and districts, arguing that “if the American people truly knew how deeply devastating, damaging, and deceitful this Republican plan is, they will reject it.”

“Republicans’ ‘One Ugly Bill’ is a farce; an attack on the values that make America great,” he wrote. “We know the first four months of Donald Trump’s presidency have been catastrophic for the American people. It is our duty to fight for American families, to stop the damage, and make certain Republicans are held accountable.”

Operation Patriot, the largest ever ICE operation, resulted in the arrest of nearly 1,500 illegals, including murderers, rapists, drug traffickers and child sex predators, in the deep blue sanctuary city-heavy state of Massachusetts.

Operation Patriot concluded on Saturday after netting 1,461 illegal aliens throughout the Greater Boston area and the state of Massachusetts, which includes numerous sanctuary jurisdictions.

Sources at ICE told Fox News that 790 of those arrested had criminal convictions or charges and 277 had final removal or deportation orders. The sources said that all the targeted criminals were roaming the streets of Massachusetts cities freely before being apprehended.

The operation ran throughout May and included ICE teams from other states in the Northeast and authorities from the FBI, DEA, and ATF.

36 CHINESE, TAIWANESE NATIONALS ARRESTED AFTER ICE RAIDS UNDERGROUND NIGHTCLUB IN LOS ANGELES

Fox News was embedded with ICE Boston on Thursday as part of this operation. While Fox News was embedded with ICE, agents arrested a murderer, two child rapists, including one living next to a playground, one fentanyl trafficker, one adult rapist, and one child sexual assaulter, all within the span of a few hours.

Prior to this, the largest ICE operation was Operation Tidal Wave in Florida, which netted 1,120 arrests. Fox News was told Operation Patriot was significantly more difficult because, unlike Florida, ICE received no local assistance from Massachusetts sanctuary jurisdictions.

Sources said the operation was in direct response to leaders in the city of Boston and Massachusetts refusing to cooperate with ICE.

The sources said “hundreds” of the arrested targets had been released by local sanctuary jurisdictions with ICE detainers ignored. ICE also said it encountered daily interference from anti-ICE activist groups throughout Massachusetts.

‘RAMPANT’ ABUSE IN BLUE STATE MIGRANT SHELTER SYSTEM, SAYS FORMER DIRECTOR: ‘COLOSSAL MESS’

Massachusetts Democratic Governor Maura Healey has responded to ICE’s operations in her state with outrage. Healey took to social media on Sunday evening to demand answers after ICE agents arrested 18-year-old Marcelo Gomes, who was an illegal and a junior at Milford High School in Milford, Massachusetts. 

In her post, Healey says she is “disturbed and outraged” and that she wants answers immediately explaining why the student was taken into immigration enforcement’s custody.

Healey asserted that “the Trump Administration continues to create fear in our communities, and it’s making us all less safe.”

HOMELAND SECURITY REMOVES ‘SANCTUARY JURISDICTIONS’ LIST FROM ITS WEBSITE

Speaking during a press conference on Monday, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons commented on the resistance from Massachusetts leaders, saying: “If sanctuary cities would change their policies and turn these violent criminal aliens over to us into our custody instead of releasing them into the public, we would not have to go out to the communities and do this.”

Lyons said the operation “just showed we need to come back and we’re going to keep coming back because ICE is going to make sure that we keep our community safe and keep our neighborhood safe from these sex offenders and these criminal aliens.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

The press conference was held the same day that an illegal alien in Massachusetts named Lorenzo Lopez Alcario was arraigned on charges of raping a child with force. A copy of the charges obtained by Fox News Digital alleges that the child was tied during the rape.

Commenting on the arraignment and on Operation Patriot, Jon Fetherston, a former Massachusetts migrant shelter director, told Fox News Digital that Democratic Governor Maura Healey’s resistance to federal immigration enforcement operations is “not only unsafe for ICE agents, it’s unsafe for all of us.”

Fetherston added that Healey’s policies are “creating a climate of lawlessness, where even convicted criminals are shielded from federal enforcement.”

“That’s not compassion — it’s recklessness,” he said. 

Healey’s office did not immediately respond to a request by Fox News Digital for comment.