The president of the Boston University College Republicans has been attacked online for saying on social media that he had called immigration agents before a raid at a Boston carwash in which nine workers were detained.
Zac Segal, a Boston University junior and a track athlete, according to his school bio page, posted on social media on Nov. 7 that he had “been calling ICE for months” about workers at Allston Car Wash, near the Boston University campus in the Allston neighborhood. Federal agents swarmed the business on Nov. 4, detaining five women and four men who worked there, according to their lawyer, Todd Pomerleau. The workers are contesting their detentions in court, he said.
Mr. Segal’s post about the carwash included a link to an article about the raid. He wrote that immigration agents “finally responded to my request to detain these criminals. 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. Pump up the numbers!”
Hundreds of people have attacked Mr. Segal online for his post. On the Instagram page of the B.U. College Republicans, one person wrote that “Zac Segal should be deported!” Another suggested more ominously, “Zac Segal should be afraid.” Mr. Segal also received messages of support on the social media platform X, such as “Patriot!” and “Thank you Zac.”
Mr. Segal did not immediately respond to messages requesting comment. On Thursday, he reposted, without comment, messages calling him “racist and fascist” and labeling him a “neo-nazi.”
He also posted a screenshot of a Boston Globe article about his efforts to report the carwash workers to ICE, writing, “We must stand up for this country.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement maintains a tip line and encourages citizens to report “suspicious activity” by phone or online.
The College Republicans of America, the national group with which B.U. College Republicans is affiliated, defended Mr. Segal for doing what the government had asked of him. “We call on all College Republicans to follow in the lead of this great patriot and notify their local ICE forces of any suspected illegal activity in their communities immediately,” Martin Bertao, the national group’s president, said in a statement.
The B.U. Republicans announced its affiliation with the College Republicans of America this week, after it broke away from another group, the College Republican National Committee, over concerns about its direction and allegations of misconduct.
It is not clear that Mr. Segal actually had anything to do with causing the Nov. 4 immigration raid in Allston. The Trump administration on Friday denied that Mr. Segal had brought agents to the carwash.
“The operation was highly targeted and relied on law enforcement intelligence — not your silly rumor,” Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs for the Department of Homeland Security, wrote in an email.
Mr. Segal’s school bio says he is an economics major from London.
The attorney for the workers, Mr. Pomerleau, said they had been busy vacuuming cars when “military style” vehicles pulled up to the carwash. Masked agents who he said were clearly armed began making arrests. Those detained included a brother and sister and a pair of sisters. Another person is 67 and has lived in the United States for some 30 years, Mr. Pomerleau said.
In referring to the detained workers as “criminals” in his post, Mr. Segal “is spreading false information about nine people he doesn’t know,” Mr. Pomerleau said. “These people are not criminals.”
He expects bond hearings to begin soon. “All of them at a minimum are going to get due process under the law.”
Mr. Pomerleau said he has received an outpouring of support for the detained workers.
Boston University did not immediately respond to messages on Friday.
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