Police commissioner defends officers in immigration incident

BOSTON: Boston’s police commissioner says his department is honoring “in letter and in spirit” the city’s Trust Act that prevents police from detaining a person solely on their immigration status.
Commissioner William Gross testified April 9 as the City Council holds a hearing to consider whether the 2014 ordinance needs to be revised.
The hearing follows revelations police helped federal immigration officials arrest a construction worker living in the country illegally after he sought worker compensation for a workplace injury in 2017.
The US Department of Labor disclosed the department’s involvement in a February federal lawsuit alleging Tara Construction unlawfully retaliated against Jose Martin Paz Flores by referring him to police.
The department says police then notified US Immigration and Customs Enforcement about Flores, who was detained after leaving the company’s offices. AP