The head of the United States immigration and customs application has threatened Boston with immigration agents after the refusal of Mayor Michelle Wu to eliminate the city’s sanctuary policies.
Todd Lyons, the interim ICE director, said on Wednesday’s interview at “The Howie Carr Show”, a conservative radio program, which the agency would expand its presence in the area. His comments followed a press conference on Tuesday in which Wu said Boston “would not go back” of his policy of limiting the police to cooperate with ICE in the efforts to apply civil immigration.
Lyons said the sanctuary policies such as Boston are harmful to security.
“We are definitely, as you have heard the saying, flooding the area, especially in the jurisdictions of sanctuary,” Lyons said in the radio program. “Obviously, Boston and Massachusetts decided that they wanted to stay sanctuary … so 100%, you will see more ice presence.”
When asked about Lyons’s interview, WU office directed NBC News to the mayor’s comments on the subject in an unrelated Thursday event.
“This is a beautiful, diverse and incredible city, and I have now said it very directly: this administration needs to stop attacking cities to hide their own failures,” Wu said.
Boston has a robust immigrant population, with more than 28% of its residents born abroad from 2021. China, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Vietnam make up the main countries of origin. In recent years, crime has continued to decrease constantly, with homicides reaching a historical minimum at the end of 2024. Thefts, aggravated assaults and the robberies of motor vehicles and fraud -related crimes have also fallen in Massachusetts, according to data published by the State.
The tensions between Wu and the Trump administration reached a critical point last week, when the Department of Justice sent letters to 35 sanctuary jurisdictions that demanded that they end immigration protections. The Department of Justice ordered that jurisdictions present plans earlier this week to demonstrate that they are taking measures to get rid of policies, threatening to cut federal funds and process officials if the cities did not comply.
“Therefore, it is notified that its jurisdiction has been identified as one that is involved in sanctuary policies and practices that frustrated the federal immigration application to the detriment of the interests of the United States,” said the letter, signed by Attorney General Pam Bondi. “This ends now.”
Wu responded to the heated letter to Bondi on Tuesday, calling for the demands of the Attorney General an “attack” against US cities and a tactic to “make Americans fear each other.”
“On behalf of the people of Boston, and in solidarity with the cities and communities led by this federal administration for our refusal to bow to unconstitutional threats and an illegal coercion, we affirm our mutual support and for our democracy,” Wu wrote. “Boston will never be a lighthouse of freedom and a home for everyone.”
The Mayor of Boston further criticized the demands of the Department of Justice during a press conference outside the City Council that same day.
“You are wrong with the law and you are wrong in security,” Wu said. “Above all, you are wrong in the cities.”
Boston immigration protections date back to 2014, when the city promulgated the Boston Trust Law with the aim of promoting confidence between immigrants communities and the application of local law. The legislation, which was modified in 2019, allows the Boston Police Department to collaborate with ICE on issues of “significant public security”, including human trafficking, child exploitation, drug and weapons trafficking and cyber crimes, but keeps the department out of the application of civil immigration. More recently, at the end of 2024, the City Council adopted a resolution that reaffirmed the law.
“The provisions of the Trust Law have been fundamental to foster a safe and cozy environment for all residents, ensuring that immigrants can commit to the Local Police without fear of deportation,” said the resolution.
