A progressive Democratic state representative in Rhode Island has sparked controversy by labeling ICE agents as ‘Nazi Gestapo thugs’ following the arrest of an MS-13 gang member linked to fentanyl trafficking. The incident has drawn criticism from ICE officials and local authorities, who accuse the representative of inflaming tensions with inflammatory rhetoric.
The arrest in question was of Ivan Rene Mendoza Meza, a 27-year-old Honduran national illegally present in the U.S. and a self-admitted member of the violent MS-13 gang. ICE sources told Fox News that during the operation, Mendoza attempted to flee, causing a crash by striking ICE vehicles before running into his apartment. He was eventually surrounded and surrendered to agents.
According to ICE Boston spokesperson James Covington, ‘Mendoza is a self-admitted member of MS-13 in Honduras and states he has committed crimes on behalf of the gang.’ The agency criticized Representative Enrique Sanchez’s remarks, stating, ‘Mr. Sanchez thinks so little of his community that he refers to ruthless MS-13 as his ‘neighbors’? What say you, Providence? The only ‘thugs’ we see are the illegal terrorist gangbangers we are trying to remove from the neighborhoods of Providence.’
Sanchez, who has strongly opposed immigration enforcement, taunted ICE agents on Sunday after a farmworker died from injuries sustained from a fall during an immigration enforcement raid on a California cannabis farm. ‘F*** ICE,’ Sanchez wrote. ‘Vallanse a la chingada ICE.’
The representative’s comments have drawn backlash from conservative groups and local residents. ‘Just Democrats supporting criminal alien gangs over American citizens,’ one user commented. In 2023, Sanchez filed a bill to give illegal immigrants the right to vote in the state, but it was tabled for further study a month after its introduction.