A blue-state governor who has vowed to fight the Trump administration's deportation efforts expressed outrage Monday after an immigrant was allegedly arrested with nearly $1 million worth of drugs and an AR-15 rifle at a hotel being temporarily used as a shelter.
“It is outrageous that this person would take advantage of our shelter system to engage in criminal activity.” Democratic Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey He said in a statement.
Healey was responding to news of Leonardo Andujar Sanchez, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, facing charges of firearms and drug trafficking while using the state's shelter system. The 28-year-old suspect was found at the Quality Inn in Revere, Massachusetts, which is currently operating as a shelter.
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Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey and a group of migrants at the southern border. ((Photo by Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images and Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images))
Sanchez was allegedly arrested in possession of ammunition, large-capacity magazines, fentanyl and cocaine with an “estimated street value of at least $750,000.” Boston 25 News reported.
Sanchez is reportedly being held without bail because a Chelsea District Court judge deemed the suspect dangerous. Another local outlet reported Sanchez entered United States illegally last year and obtained an ID card from New York's shelter system.
The governor of Massachusetts ordered a search of the shelter after the incident.
“I have ordered an inspection of all shelter units, starting with the Revere site, and a complete review of our intake operations to determine any additional steps we can take to prevent criminal activity at shelters,” Healey said. “This further highlights our broken federal immigration system and the urgent need for Congress and the White House to act on a border security bill to prevent criminals from entering our communities,” he added.
“The people of Massachusetts should not continue to deal with the effects of federal inaction,” she added.
In 2023, Hailey said about her conditionImmigrants “are drawn here because we have proudly been a beacon for those in need.”
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Massachusetts is one of a number of states inundated by the wave of migrants coming from the southern border. (Photo: Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Shortly after the elections, Haley vowed to block this President-elect Donald Trump's plan to enforce immigration laws.
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Haley told MSNBC in November that her state police “will not cooperate at all” with expected mass deportation efforts by the incoming Trump administration and warned that she would use “every tool at hand” to “protect our citizens.”
“I think it's important that we all realize that there will be a lot of pressure on states and state officials. I can assure you that we will work hard to make that happen,” she said at the time. “So I think the key here, you know, is that every tool in the toolbox must be used to protect our citizens, protect our populations, protect our states, and maintain democracy and the rule of law as a fundamental principle.”
Haley's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Migrants line the floors of Logan International Airport in Boston. (Fox News)
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Tom Homan, President-elect Trump's “border czar,” warned state and local officials against obstructing the incoming administration's efforts to round up illegal immigrants.
“The president has been clear, we will focus first on public safety threats and national security threats first,” Homan said. He said during an interview on Fox News. “If they don't want to help us, get out of the way, and we'll do it.”
Massachusetts is one of a number of states I was overwhelmed Due to the influx of immigrants coming from the southern border.
For management As the number of migrants increased, Healey was forced to place restrictions on shelter programs to prioritize the state's residents.
Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
