Boston police say a technology problem may explain, in part, their receiving far fewer requests from federal immigration officials to detain people last year than U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement claims.
A police spokesperson said in a statement that Boston police had asked ICE to start emailing instead of faxing detainer requests. But the email was never used; instead, the department received 15 detainer requests via fax in 2024. That number is consistent with requests to BPD in the last few years.
But after police provided those numbers to the Boston City Council, an ICE spokesperson said the actual number was much higher. ICE said the office issued 198 detainers to Boston police last year to request the custody transfer of people arrested whom ICE had “probable cause to believe were removable non-citizens.”…