ICE Director Slams Congressman For “Disgusting” Remarks, “It Won’t Stop Me”

U.S. Congressman Seth Moulton (D-MA) called the conditions for detainees at ICE Burlington “inhumane,” and wrote: “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.”

ICE Director Todd Lyons responded to Moulton’s comments, saying: “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.”

With the video below, Moulton replied to Lyons: “Prosecuting bad cops, whether @ICEgov or anyone else, is about upholding the law. But given the @potus you work for, maybe I shouldn’t expect you to understand that. Director Lyons, you can make up all the BS you want about me. It won’t stop me from calling out abuses by ICE and standing up for what’s right.”

The video includes a still of The New York Times report that reveals a majority of immigrants arrested and detained by ICE — more than 60 percent — “do not have U.S. criminal records,” and that about eight percent have been convicted of a violent crime.”

Note: Moulton is challenging incumbent U.S. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) in the 2026 Massachusetts Democratic primary. The Massachusetts Republican Party has endorsed “Never Trumper” attorney John Deaton, who lost to Sen. Elizabeth Warren in the 2024 Massachusetts U.S. Senate election, by nearly 20 points.