The Current has spoken with James Covington in Boston’s ICE office, who confirmed that ICE agents, along with the FBI, were involved with the incident on Beach Street when a man in a landscaping truck was taken into custody.
“It was in support of Operation Patriot,” Covington said. “A targeted enforcement operations means we were going after someone specific.”
Covington could not say whether ICE took one or more men into custody. He expects more information to be released later today.
NEW at 3:30 p.m.
Regarding today’s traffic stop on Beach Street involving the FBI and other law enforcement, Congressman Seth Moulton tells the Current, “Armed agents in unmarked cars surrounding a local landscaping truck and screaming at the driver in front of neighbors without even notifying Marblehead Police or the district attorney is not law enforcement — it’s intimidation.
“These tactics do nothing to protect our communities; they only terrorize them. People should not have to fear being caught in the middle of an ICE operation on their way to work or school. When residents are afraid of their own government, they are less likely to cooperate with law enforcement — and that makes everyone less safe.
“I have already asked the FBI and DOJ for an explanation for why this situation was handled so aggressively and unprofessionally.”
****
FBI and other law enforcement agents apparently took into custody at least one man from a landscaping truck on Beach Street this morning, according to a neighbor who witnessed the incident.
“The FBI, like all our Department of Justice partners, (ATF, DEA ad the U.S. Marshals Service) is assisting the Department of Homeland Security with immigration enforcement,” the Boston FBI sent in a statement.
Sarah Fox said she was walking by when several vehicles “hemmed in” the Lassana Landscaping truck and men wearing FBI and police gear started screaming at the driver. Fox said she heard one agent yell, “Your identification is fake!”
Contacted by the Current, Marblehead Police Chief Dennis King said, “We were not notified, nor asked to assist, but are aware of the reports of the activity.”
A woman who answered the phone at Lassana Landscaping, which is based in Marblehead, said she didn’t have details and didn’t witness the incident herself, adding, “But we are missing our guys.” She wasn’t sure how many employees may have been taken.
“This is horrible,” Fox said. “This man didn’t do anything wrong. He was on his way to work, going to make our lives easier. Now his life is changed forever. Who is going to pick up his kids after school today?”
Immigration attorney Diann Slavit Baylis, who lives in Marblehead, was surprised by the action this morning.
“Obviously this was an ambush and the people (in the Lassana truck) didn’t know their rights and that is what ICE is counting on,” Slavit Baylis said. “To come into a suburb, it’s not to fight crime, it’s just to pick up people who are not expecting it.”
Slavit Baylis advises her clients that if they are pulled over by ICE or other federal agents to roll down their window and keep their hands on the steering wheel. The driver is required to provide a name and address but is not required to say anything more.
“They can search the car if they have probable cause, so say clearly, ‘I do not consent’ and then remain silent.”
State Rep. Jenny Armini, contacted by the Current, wrote,” It is shocking and distressing to see federal agents in Marblehead. Landscapers are not criminals. They are part of our economy and by extension, our community. The goal of today’s actions is not to keep us safe. That’s the big lie. Its goal is to destabilize our communities and terrorize individuals and their families. Marblehead has never given into tyrants, and we’re not about to start now.”
Lassana Landscaping is owned by Lassana Diawara and his wife Alison Williams and has been operating on the North Shore since 2002. According to the company’s website, “The couple first met in a small farming village along the Niger River in Mali, West Africa. Lassana farmed rice on his family’s land, and Alison worked as an agricultural Peace Corps volunteer. In 2001, they moved back to Alison’s hometown of Marblehead, where Lassana worked for a couple of years at Kipp’s Greenhouses. It was there that he met some of his first landscaping customers and began to grow the business.”
The Current has reached out to ICE, District Attorney Paul Tucker’s office and Congressman Seth Moulton’s office for comment. This is a developing story.
