Federal immigration officials vowed this week to intensify enforcement in Boston after Mayor Michelle Wu rejected Attorney General Pam Bondi's ultimatum to dismantle sanctuary protections, escalating a clash between city hall and Washington over immigration policy.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said on The Howie Carr Show Wednesday that the agency plans to "flood the zone" in Boston. "We did Operation Patriot March which yielded over 1,000 arrests, and now you're going to see more ICE agents come to Boston to make sure that we take these public threats out that she wants to let go back in the communities," Lyons said. "Sanctuary does not mean safer streets. It means more criminal aliens out and about the neighborhood."
Patricia Hyde, acting field office director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in Boston, echoed those remarks on Fox News. "Unlike Mayor Wu, I was born and raised in Massachusetts. I grew up in Boston," Hyde said. "I know what a safe Boston looks like, and this isn't it." She added: "While Mayor Wu is up, having a press conference and talking about not working with ICE, the men and women of ICE are out working, making her community safer."
Wu fired back at the Trump administration on Tuesday, calling Bondi's directive a "political stunt." "Stop attacking our cities to hide your administration's failures," Wu said at a press conference on City Hall Plaza. "Unlike the Trump administration, Boston follows the law, and Boston will not back down from who we are or what we stand for. We will not back away from our community that has made us the safest city in the country."
At issue is Boston's Trust Act, a 2014 ordinance that prohibits local police from cooperating with federal immigration detainers on civil warrants. City officials note the law still permits cooperation with federal authorities on serious criminal cases involving drug, weapons, or human trafficking. Wu said she was enforcing an existing law and emphasized that Boston relies on roughly $300 million in federal funding earmarked by Congress, money she argued cannot be withheld unilaterally.
Federal officials contend Boston's policy has allowed violent offenders to remain free. Hyde pointed to arrests in Massachusetts involving aggravated rape of a child, assault, and kidnapping. ICE said nearly 1,500 offenders were apprehended in Boston during a month-long operation earlier this year. Lyons accused Massachusetts of "releasing criminal aliens in real time while we're out there working the streets."
Bondi has threatened to sue sanctuary jurisdictions and cut off federal aid. "If they don't comply with us, we're going to work with other agencies to cut off their federal funding," Bondi said on Fox News. "We are going to send in law enforcement just like we did during the LA riots, just like we're doing here in Washington, D.C. And if they're not going to keep their citizens safe, Donald Trump will keep them safe."
Wu dismissed the threat of losing federal dollars as unlawful and vowed legal resistance. "We also stand with those cities as they sue over his abuse of power," she said. "We have reviewed those cases and we are prepared to stand up for our city's rights if we need to."
