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By Abby Patkin
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The president of the Boston University College Republicans took credit for summoning federal immigration officials to Allston Car Wash last week, saying he’d been “calling ICE for months on end” before the controversial raid.
“This week they finally responded to my request to detain these criminals,” Zac Segal wrote on X Friday, days after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained nine car wash employees on Nov. 4.
“As someone who lives in the neighborhood, I’ve seen how American jobs are being given away to those with no right to be here,” wrote Segal, who counts London, England, as his hometown. “Pump up the numbers!”
Segal referred a request for comment to the College Republicans of America, which provided a statement from its president, Martin Bertao.
“We applaud Zac Segal … for his service to his community by reporting the presence of illegal aliens at Allston Car Wash, which resulted in the removal of nine illegals,” Bertao said. “Zac Segal is a hero, and we are proud to call him one of our own. We call on all College Republicans to follow in the lead of this great patriot and notify their local ICE forces of any known illegal activity in their communities immediately.”
Boston.com has also contacted Boston University College Republicans and the university for comment.
Segal’s tweet was in response to a Boston.com article about the ICE raid, which purportedly saw masked agents rounding up car wash employees without giving them the chance to retrieve work permits from their lockers.
Todd Pomerleau, an attorney representing the workers, said none of them had criminal records that would warrant deportation. The majority of the workers are scheduled for bond hearings next week, and Pomerleau said he expects they will be released on bond.
“They’re people living the American dream,” Pomerleau said by phone Thursday. “They were just grabbed and thrown in vans.”
Generally, being present in the U.S. without proper legal authorization is a civil violation, not a criminal act.
Segal appeared to double down in another social media post Thursday, sharing a screenshot of a Boston Globe article about his comments and writing, “We must stand up for this country.”
Reactions to his posts were mixed; while several people denounced Segal as racist, fascist, or a “disgrace” to BU, others proclaimed him a “patriot.”
Boston City Councilor Enrique Pepén even weighed in, writing, “If ‘standing up’ for this country means calling ICE on hard working residents who are contributing to our society, you must have the wrong priorities for this country. Shame on you.”
Pomerleau noted it’s increasingly common to see a rush to judgment based on someone’s skin color, ethnicity, job, or neighborhood. He decried Segal’s stance as devoid of facts or empathy.
“He’s entitled to his own opinion and beliefs, but I don’t respect that type of opinion,” Pomerleau said.
“I think he should ask BU for his money back, if he thinks like that,” Pomerleau added. “It’s disgusting and un-American.”
Abby Patkin is a general assignment news reporter whose work touches on public transit, crime, health, and everything in between.
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