The chairs of the Massachusetts Democratic and Republican Parties offered starkly different assessments of the Boston University student who claims he repeatedly tipped off U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement prior to a recent raid on an Allston car wash.
Zac Segal, the head of the BU College Republicans, posted on social media that he had made many calls to ICE, asking them to “detain those criminals.” Nine workers were detained earlier this month, and their attorney told Boston.com that they all had work permits.
Asked during a joint appearance on GBH’s Boston Public Radio if the Mass. GOP has a position on the student’s claims, Carnevale did not directly answer.
“I don’t know this individual,” she said Monday. “I don’t know what information he had that led him to, you know, call ICE about these individuals.
“I believe, and the Republican Party believes, that we should lead with a ‘worst first’ policy when it comes to ICE and target those who are criminal illegal aliens here in Massachusetts,” Carnevale added. “That should be the priority.”
Host Jim Braude pressed Carnevale, saying, “Would you agree he had no idea whether they were criminal or not? He knows what they look like?” Carnevale replied, “It appears that that’s the case.”
Mass. Dems chair Steve Kerrigan offered a harsher, less equivocal assessment of Segal’s purported behavior and the response it’s elicited.
“I find it abhorrent, what that young man did,” Kerrigan said. “I find it even worse that leaders within [the Mass. GOP] have refused to stand up and say that. The whole idea that we can lean back on ‘worst first’ and catchphrases and all that stuff — that’s not what they’re doing. That’s not who they’re sweeping up.
“Nine people who went to work to try to earn some money to be able to put food on the table every day and for Thanksgiving, or buy a present for their kids, just trying to live their lives are getting swept up and sent God knows where,” Kerrigan added. “And no one, including the three candidates who wish to lead this state as our governor, none of them will stand up and say so. It is just a disgusting — a lack of humanity.”
Segal is an intern for Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Shortsleeve. He offered ambiguous comment on Segal’s alleged actions last week, telling the Boston Globe: “Where I stand on this is we’ve got to enforce the law. We should start with [deporting] the worst first. I believe due process will play out as it has in many other cases.”
Last week, GBH news asked Carnevale, Shortsleeve, his fellow GOP gubernatorial candidates Mike Kennealy and Mike Minogue, and Republican U.S. Senate candidate John Deaton: Do you support individuals calling ICE to report immigrants working at a specific business? And if so, under what circumstances?
At the time, only Deaton responded with comment, saying he believed Segal had acted inappropriately.
“Do I support this particular case? No, because it runs the risk of clearly profiling, racial profiling,” Deaton said. “How do you know someone’s legal status by looking at them? And there’s an inherent risk of profiling brown and Black people in this country, and I’m never going to openly support that.”
After Kerrigan’s comments Monday condemning the unwillingness of Mass. GOP leaders to speak out about Segal’s claims, Carnevale replied, “We still don’t know the full story of these individuals and whether they had committed crimes, and presumably ICE investigated before they went in.”
An ICE spokesperson previously disputed the idea that Segal’s tips were the cause for the raid, telling GBH News, “The operation was highly targeted and relied on law enforcement intelligence — not your silly rumor.”
Sarah Betancourt contributed reporting.
