The Department of Justice is suing the City of Boston, Mayor Michelle Wu and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox over the city’s sanctuary city policies.
In the lawsuit filed Thursday, the Trump administration said the city is breaking federal law by refusing to assist with immigration enforcement.
“The City of Boston and its Mayor have been among the worst sanctuary offenders in America – they explicitly enforce policies designed to undermine law enforcement and protect illegal aliens from justice,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “If Boston won’t protect its citizens from illegal alien crime, this Department of Justice will.”
In August, Mayor Wu responded to an ultimatum from the government over city policies, saying Boston “will not back down.”
The DOJ wrote in the lawsuit, Wu’s “resistance endangers public safety, resulting in a number of criminals being released into Boston who should have been held for immigration removal from the United States.”
The lawsuit targets the Boston Trust Act, which limits the role of the city in enforcing federal immigration laws. The DOJ said the policy, “discriminates against the Federal Government.”
WBZ has reached out to Mayor Wu’s office for comment on the lawsuit.
In March, Mayor Wu testified before the House Oversight Committee in Washington, D.C. as part of federal investigation into sanctuary cities. In her opening statement she said, “Massachusetts State law and the Boston Trust Act make clear that immigration is federal law enforcement’s responsibility.”
The Department of Justice has filed lawsuits targeting sanctuary city policies across the country, including in New York, New Jersey, and Los Angeles.
