ICE, DEA arrest criminal illegal aliens on idyllic New England island

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents in New England executed a joint operation on Nantucket, Massachusetts, to arrest "illegal criminal aliens" on Tuesday.

In a post on X, the DEA New England division said its agents assisted ICE and ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston with the arrests on the idyllic and posh summer vacation destination island situated 30 miles south of Cape Cod.

The Nantucket Current reported that the DEA confirmed it had arrested a man previously charged with kidnapping and domestic assault and battery, as well as a woman.

In a statement to the publication, the acting special agent in charge of the DEA’s New England Field Division would only say it worked with its federal partners on immigration enforcement efforts.

Also assisting with the operation was the U.S. Coast Guard, which reportedly took federal agents to Nantucket and back to the mainland with a suspect in tow.

The Town of Nantucket said in a press release that the Nantucket Police Department was contacted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and DEA about their plans to arrive at the island to serve an arrest warrant for a "violent offender."

The federal agencies also requested assistance from Nantucket police, given their local geographical knowledge of the area.

The department’s detective unit assisted federal agents in identifying requested addresses, while also providing the DEA with transportation.