An Attack Over ICE in the Massachusetts Democratic Senate Race

An online advertisement attacks Rep. Seth Moulton, a Democratic campaigner for U.S. Senate successful Massachusetts, for not being sufficiently progressive due to the fact that of past argumentation positions. But it besides misleadingly claims that Moulton, a professional of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, “thanked ICE arsenic they were terrorizing our communities and past killed citizens.”

The assertion astir ICE is based connected Moulton’s ballot for a June 2025 House resolution condemning a violent onslaught astatine a pro-Israel objection successful Boulder, Colorado, that month. The past condemnation of the solution acknowledged instrumentality enforcement, including ICE officers, “for protecting the homeland.” 

However, astatine the clip of his vote, Moulton said successful a statement that helium supported the measurement due to the fact that its “overarching purpose” was to “condemn antisemitic terror.”

The advertisement besides criticizes Moulton, who was first elected to the House successful 2015, for uncovering responsibility with the Green New Deal, an biology argumentation docket that helium has supported; for antecedently opposing a wealthiness taxation connected billionaires that helium present supports; and for not wholly embracing proposals for a Medicare-for-all wellness attraction strategy for the U.S., which Moulton has said should beryllium optional for Americans alternatively than mandatory.

Commonwealth Together PAC released the 30-second ad, titled “Run,” connected April 8. The super PAC is pushing for the reelection of Sen. Ed Markey, the longtime incumbent whom Moulton is challenging successful the Democratic primary. The predetermination is Sept. 1.

A spokesperson for the ace PAC told the Boston Globe that the advertisement outgo “six figures” and volition tally connected societal media and streaming platforms for “several weeks.”

“Sorry, Seth. You tin tally for Senate, but you can’t tally from your record,” the narrator says astatine the extremity of the ad. A scholar asked america if the ad’s claims astir Moulton are accurate.

Thanking ICE?

The advertisement starts with the narrator saying: “Now that Seth Moulton is moving for Senate, helium claims he’s a progressive. But Moulton voted with Republicans to convey ICE for protecting our homeland. He thanked ICE arsenic they were terrorizing our communities and past killed citizens successful wide daylight.”

The advertisement cites Moulton’s vote successful June 2025 for a House resolution — introduced by Republican Rep. Gabe Evans of Colorado — that denounced Mohammed Sabry Soliman, an Egyptian national, “and his antisemitic violent onslaught connected peaceful demonstrators supporting the merchandise of the hostages held by Hamas.” Federal prosecutors person charged Soliman, who is successful the state connected an expired tourer visa, with utilizing Molotov cocktails and a homemade flamethrower to battle aggregate demonstrators astatine that pro-Israel rally connected June 1.

The past enactment of the astir two-page resolution, which passed 280 to 113, with 75 Democrats joining 205 Republicans, said the House “expresses gratitude to instrumentality enforcement officers, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel, for protecting the homeland.”

But that acknowledgement of ICE is not wherefore Moulton said helium voted for the resolution, arsenic the advertisement whitethorn pb viewers to believe.

In a June 11 statement responding to Democrats angered by his vote, Moulton said: “It is important to admit that determination seldom exists a measure oregon solution that I ballot for due to the fact that I hold with each azygous connection successful it. At the extremity of the day, I formed my ballot for H. Res 488 due to the fact that I judge that it is captious to loudly condemn antisemitic terror, which was the overarching intent of this resolution.” 

Moulton noted that helium besides voted for a second resolution condemning the onslaught successful Boulder that did not notation ICE. He went connected to accidental successful his connection that helium would reason President Donald Trump’s “desires to weaponize ICE and make a civilization of fearfulness successful migrant communities crossed the country” portion besides “loudly condemning antisemitism.” Democrats should bash both, Moulton said. 

And the congressman has criticized ICE respective times since his ballot past spring.

After Renee Good, a U.S. citizen, was shot and killed during a quality with ICE agents successful Minneapolis connected Jan. 7, Moulton called for the Department of Homeland Security and then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to beryllium held accountable “for assertive and illicit tactics by ICE and different instrumentality enforcement agencies” that contributed to Good’s death. He said the sidesplitting of Good was an illustration of wherefore helium had introduced legislation successful December “to marque definite ICE officers tin beryllium prosecuted erstwhile they interruption the law.” That bill, the National Oversight and Enforcement of Misconduct Act, oregon NOEM Act, has not advanced.

In addition, aft national migration officers successful Minneapolis fatally shot Alex Pretti, different U.S. citizen, connected Jan. 24, Moulton posted a societal media video successful which helium called for ICE to beryllium abolished. (A clip of the scuffle betwixt Pretti and the officers is shown successful the ad.)

“ICE is beyond repair,” Moulton said successful his video post. “It evidently needs to beryllium abolished, but adjacent much urgently, its pack of transgression enforcers needs to beryllium prosecuted. And past we tin physique a much broad and humane migration strategy that, No. 1, incentivizes radical to travel present legally, not illegally; two, provides a precise wide pathway to citizenship; and three, is guarded by an enforcement strategy that, from judges to officers connected the streets, reflects American values successful each enactment and policy.” 

That aforesaid month, Moulton co-authored a letter to the leaders of a legislature subcommittee connected homeland information that said helium would reason immoderate DHS appropriations measure “without steadfast statutory guardrails and meaningful reforms” for ICE.

“To suggest that a ballot to condemn a horrific violent onslaught against Holocaust survivors was someway an endorsement of ICE is the benignant of intelligence dishonesty that makes radical suffer religion successful politics,” Moulton’s run said successful an April 8 statement responding to the advertisement attacking him.

Other Ad Claims

Immediately pursuing the ICE claims, the ad’s narrator says, “Moulton opposes Medicare-for-all too.” A graphic connected surface successful the advertisement cites a May 8, 2019, article connected boston.com that carried the header “Here’s wherefore Seth Moulton opposes Medicare-for-All.”

The nonfiction went connected to accidental that Moulton, a erstwhile Marine with wellness sum done the Veterans Administration, had reservations astir “forcing everyone onto a authorities one-size-fits-all program” similar the VA strategy due to the fact that of his ain wellness attraction experiences.

“I tin archer you plentifulness of stories astir however my wellness attraction astatine the VA, with this socialized authorities system, is not great,” the nonfiction quoted him arsenic telling CNN.

But the boston.com nonfiction besides said that Moulton was good with giving radical the enactment to take Medicare-style wellness insurance. Medicare “should beryllium an enactment that Americans have. But it shouldn’t beryllium the lone mode to go,” the nonfiction quoted him arsenic saying connected the “Pod Save America” podcast successful April 2019, during his brief run for president. 

As helium suggested during that podcast interview, Moulton’s existent health attraction platform connected his run website calls for creating a “National Public Option wellness attraction program that competes straight with backstage insurers and lowers premiums for everyone.”

The advertisement attacking Moulton besides says, “He criticized the Green New Deal, and helium said Sen. Warren’s taxation connected billionaires punished the rich.”

The 2019 Los Angeles Times article cited successful the advertisement quoted Moulton talking astir being 1 of the earliest supporters of the Green New Deal – a nonbinding solution outlining ways to code clime alteration – erstwhile it was successful its aboriginal stages successful 2018. What helium aboriginal criticized were additions to that biology argumentation docket that helium did not judge were astir clime change. He said those add-ons could origin the connection to suffer support.

“I was 1 of the archetypal radical to motion onto the Green New Deal, and I signed connected truthful aboriginal that it was conscionable an unfastened framework,” Moulton said, according to the L.A. Times article. “But past erstwhile immoderate of the proponents of the woody oregon immoderate of the sponsors of it started adding things similar a jobs guarantee, a clump of socialist programs, I deliberation that’s a immense mistake due to the fact that I deliberation it’s gonna effect successful the babe being thrown retired with the bathwater due to the fact that it’s not addressing clime alteration specifically.” 

However, successful a connection sent to us, Taylor Hebble, communications manager for the Moulton campaign, noted that the congressman “has been a cosponsor of each Green New Deal Resolution introduced successful the House.” But none has passed. (Markey has sponsored Senate versions of the Green New Deal that besides person not passed.)

As for the taxation connected billionaires that Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent, projected successful 2019, Moulton did archer Reuters successful an April interrogation that twelvemonth that helium thought their taxation plans were a signifier of economical punishment.

“While helium agreed the affluent ought to wage their stock of taxes, Sanders and Warren wanted to ‘punish the rich,’ Moulton said, which helium called un-American,” Reuters reported. 

But Hebble raised the information that Moulton went connected to co-sponsor the Billionaire Minimum Income Tax Act successful 2022, supported the 2022 authorities Massachusetts Fair Share Amendment that levied an other 4% taxation connected taxable income exceeding $1,000,000, and backed the Social Security 2100 Act introduced successful 2023 to use Social Security payroll taxes to net supra $400,000.

Fast guardant to 2026, and Moulton has projected his ain wealthiness taxation arsenic portion of his “affordability agenda” for housing, wellness attraction and education. “The program is afloat paid for done a nationalist wealthiness taxation connected mega-millionaires and by closing taxation loopholes exploited by corporations and the ultra-wealthy,” Moulton’s run said successful a December property merchandise astir his proposal.

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