Acting ICE director slams Seth Moulton for calls to prosecute agency

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons is slamming Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton for calling to prosecute the agency.

Moulton made the comments to reporters on Monday following an oversight tour of the ICE facility in Burlington, saying if Democrats are to regain the majority in Congress, that “the abuses of ICE need to be prosecuted. Not just defunded — prosecuted. They need to be held accountable to the law that they claim to enforce.”

In a phone interview with the Herald, a furious Lyons called Moulton’s words “disgusting,” going on to question why the congressman would take such a stance against law enforcement.

“Disgusting. That’s pure political theater and I don’t understand why the congressman wants to go ahead and call for the prosecution of law enforcement officers that are actually his constituents,” Lyons said.

“There are people that are out there in the country illegally and ICE is following the law,” he added. “Specifically, for Congressman Moulton, ICE is following the law that he and his counterparts have codified and written and had the opportunity to change. So, instead of calling for the doxxing and violence and resistance against ICE officers and agents, or saying that ICE agents need to be prosecuted, they should be trying to fix the Immigration Nationality Act, which they have the power to do, yet don’t have the strength of the stomach to do it.”

Moulton is hitting back at Lyons, telling the Herald in a fiery response that “anyone who violates the law should be prosecuted.”

“This is actually very simple: Anyone who violates the law should be prosecuted — and that includes ICE officials. This Administration — from Donald Trump to (Secretary of War) Pete Hegseth to ICE abusing their authority in our streets — seems to think they are above the law. Todd Lyons of all people, whose service predates the Trump Administration, should understand this,” Moulton said.

“You can’t watch the numerous videos of unarmed men and women being violently arrested, little kids being used as bait to get their parents, or priests being assaulted for exercising their First Amendment rights and not say that many of Trump’s immigration enforcers aren’t breaking the law. Real leaders take responsibility for their subordinates, rather than whining about the Members of Congress who are fulfilling our oversight responsibilities to ensure that they do,” he said.

Lyons went on to question if Moulton — who is running for U.S. Senate against incumbent Sen. Ed Markey in the September primary — is trying to heighten his political image for his campaign.

“I’m not sure why he would go ahead and want to run on a platform where you want to have law enforcement officers and agents prosecuted,” Lyons said. “And I think his comments will backfire. I’ve had so many prominent individuals in Massachusetts and so many local law enforcement leaders reach out to me and say they were just as outraged and they couldn’t believe it as well.

“So, I am not sure why he would want to use the backs of the brave men and women of ICE just to gather some votes,” he added.

Moulton did not respond to Lyons’ claims of political motivation for his comments, but went on to further criticize the agency along with Customs & Border Protection (CBP) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

“There’s nobody I’ve met who hates bad cops more than good cops because they give everyone in law enforcement a bad name — and that’s what the abuses of ICE, HSI, and CBP are doing in America today,” said Moulton, before turning to the adopted practice by ICE agents to wear masks concealing their identities during certain operations.

“And one more specific comment: The Marines and soldiers on our front lines around the globe, such as those I served with in Iraq, get targeted not only online but with rounds fired downrange, and I don’t see any of them wearing masks. My family gets threatened because of my job as well, and I don’t wear a mask. If you’re proud of your service, you shouldn’t be too afraid to show your face,” he said.

The Herald also asked Lyons about comments made on the House floor Wednesday by Democratic Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, who claimed that her office has documented “hundreds of cases” of ICE unlawfully arresting legal residents, using excessive force, and racial profiling.

“Rogue, masked federal agents are violating people’s civil rights — glorified bullies masquerading as public servants. They terrorize our communities in the name of so-called ‘law and order,’ while detaining and deporting our neighbors without due process,” Pressley said.

“My office has documented hundreds of cases marked by excessive force, racial profiling, and the unlawful arrest of legal residents. Just last month, rogue federal agents descended on the Allston neighborhood in the Massachusetts 7th, the diverse community that is home to small businesses and music venues that are welcoming to all,” she said.

Markey has also chimed in with his own allegations of abuses by ICE, posting on X on Tuesday about an oversight tour of an ICE facility in Louisiana, where he says pregnant women detained at the facility reported medical neglect and infections, resulting in miscarriages.

“In April, I visited the ICE detention facility in Basile, LA, and heard directly from women detained there. We need answers from the Trump admin about reports of inhumane conditions, medical neglect, and miscarriages at Basile. Pregnant women deserve dignity, not cruelty,” Markey posted.

Lyons says Pressley and Markey’s claims are “absolutely ridiculous.”

“Senator Markey has visited ICE facilities, including in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts facilities, like the one in Plymouth County, are some of the finest ones in ICE’s inventory and have always scored the highest marks of detainee standards,” Lyons said.

“ICE doesn’t deport U.S. citizens or other individuals who are here legally. That’s just a flat-out lie and you constantly hear nowadays that ICE is doing this. I will tell you the only U.S. citizens that are being arrested in Massachusetts are the ones who are listening to elected officials like them that decide to resist ICE or illegally interfere with a lawful ICE operation,” he continued.

Moulton’s visit to the Burlington facility came following allegations of abuse and inhumane treatment of detainees by local activists. They claim detainees are held in rooms without basic necessities, including beds, windows, soap, clocks, and “hardly any food or water.” They also say detainees are being held at the facility for long periods of time without due process.

Following the visit, Moulton told reporters and demonstrators that the observations he made during his previous visit to the facility in June remained the same, but did note that detainees seemed to have been getting processed in a more timely manner.

“Some of the observations I made on my last visit, that there were not enough blankets, and adequate facilities for people to be detained here for any length of time, those have not changed, but we have been promised that they will change,” said Moulton. “We are going to follow up and stay on top of them to make sure they get basic humanitarian things like sleeping mats so they are not sleeping on concrete floors or concrete benches, to make sure they get adequate meals that meet basic humanitarian standards.”

Lyons pointed to the individual detainees who were being held at the facility on the day of Moulton’s oversight tour, and the violent charges they face, as an example of the type of people who the congressman is advocating for.

“If you go ahead and you look at the individuals who were arrested that day and that were there when he was in the facility. We had a Dominican national that was arrested for distribution of fentanyl, distribution of crack cocaine, assault and battery, carrying a dangerous weapon and a pending charge for armed robbery. Then we had a El Salvadorian with convictions of rape of a child, rape of a child by force — three counts. And then you had a Cambodian with convictions of raping a child and indecent assault,” Lyons told the Herald.

Lyons had also responded to the Herald’s inquiry on the allegations in a previous report, saying the facility in Burlington is meant to temporarily hold detainees until they are moved elsewhere.

“The ICE field office in Burlington is intended to hold detainees while they are going through the administrative intake process. Afterwards, they are usually moved to a longer-term detention facility. There are occasions where detainees might need to stay at the Burlington office longer than the anticipated administrative processing time,” said Lyons.