Boston Mayor Michelle Wu shot back at U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s immigration enforcement threats in a letter Tuesday, condemning what she called the Trump administration’s “false and continuous attacks on American cities and millions of our residents.”
Bondi sent “demand letters” last week to Boston and 31 other cities and states that she alleges limit police cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Boston’s Trust Act allows city police to work with federal immigration officers in criminal cases, but not to carry out civil enforcement.
Wu said the city of Boston follows local, state and federal laws. She called out the administration for threatening “to prosecute local officials and illegally withhold federal grants and contracts unless Boston agrees to actively participate in mass deportations.”
In a press conference Tuesday morning on Boston’s City Hall Plaza, flanked by a few hundred supporters, the mayor responded to the pressure from the Trump administration in a fiery speech.
“Stop attacking our cities to hide your administration’s failures,” Wu said.
The mayor reiterated her position that Boston is one of the nation’s safest cities because police do not pursue civil immigration violations. Instead, Wu said, immigrants here are encouraged to cooperate with police investigations into crimes.
“Our police don’t have to hide their faces,” she said, in a reference to federal immigration agents who frequently wear masks during arrests.
She said ICE has so far failed to provide public records about its immigrant arrests requested by the mayor’s office in June. Wu said the city will file a formal appeal and “will take legal steps if they continue to refuse transparency.”
Wu also said Boston is watching the Trump administration’s decision to send National Guard troops into Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. “We are prepared to stand up for our city’s rights if we need to,” the mayor said.
The press conference, which opened with mariachi musicians serenading the crowd, was attended by U.S. Sen. Edward Markey. The senator said Boston won’t be “bullied,” and that the city does not need the help of ICE or the National Guard.
Rev. Jeffrey Brown, a church leader from Roxbury, also urged on an enthusiastic crowd, chanting, “We stand as one Boston.”
This story is developing. It will be updated.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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