Boston Mayor Michelle Wu (D) struck back Tuesday at the Trump administration’s legal threats over her city’s immigration policies with a blistering letter asserting Boston won’t “bow down to unconstitutional threats or unlawful coercion” from the federal government.
“The U.S. Attorney General asked for a response by today, so here it is: stop attacking our cities to hide your administration’s failures,” Wu wrote in a social media post linking to her formal letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Bondi sent letters last week to 32 state and local governments that have been deemed “sanctuary jurisdictions,” including Boston, warning that they could lose federal funds or face legal action if they do not assist with President Trump’s sweeping immigration enforcement efforts.
“For too long, so-called sanctuary jurisdiction policies have undermined this necessary cooperation and obstructed federal immigration enforcement, giving aliens cover to perpetrate crimes in our communities and evade the immigration consequences that federal law requires,” Bondi wrote to Wu and other local letters.
In her formal reply to Bondi, Wu lauded safety measures Boston has taken to tackle crime, often in partnership with federal authorities.
“Our City’s longstanding and productive partnership with state and federal law enforcement to protect the people of Boston far predates your tenure,” Wu wrote to Bondi. “The Boston Police Department, the first municipal police department in the United States, works closely with state and federal agencies to address counterterrorism threats, protect our airport and our harbor, combat drug and human trafficking and hold perpetrators accountable for crimes.”
She blasted the Trump administration for lobbing “false and continuous attacks on American cities.”
“On behalf of the people of Boston, and in solidarity with the cities and communities targeted by this federal administration for our refusal to bow down to unconstitutional threats and unlawful coercion, we affirm our support for each other and for our democracy,” Wu wrote. “Boston will never back down from being a beacon of freedom, and a home for everyone.”
The Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.
The Trump administration has taken aim at cities and states — mostly ones led by Democrats — that have high crime rates or have not aided the mass immigration arrests and deportations that Trump has pushed.
The president last week declared a public safety emergency in the District of Columbia and seized control of the Metropolitan Police Force (MPD) and sent members of the National Guard and federal law enforcement agencies in a sweeping crime crackdown in the nation’s capital.
Trump deployed Marines and National Guard troops in Los Angeles in June amid protests over Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids.
