Boston Mayor Michelle Wu fired again at U.S. Lawyer Common Pam Bondi over threats to get leaders of Democratic-leaning cities to adjust to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
“Here is our response: Stop attacking our cities to hide your administration’s failures,” Wu mentioned throughout a Tuesday press convention. “Unlike the Trump administration, Boston follows the law, and Boston will not back down from who we are and what we stand for.”
In a letter from Wu to Bondi additionally launched Tuesday, the mayor hailed Boston as a “beacon of freedom, and a home for everyone” in her formal response to Bondi giving so-called sanctuary jurisdictions one week to adjust to federal immigration legal guidelines or face Division of Justice motion.
“You are hereby notified that your jurisdiction has been identified as one that engages in sanctuary policies and actions that thwart federal immigration enforcement to the detriment of the interests of the United States,” learn final week’s letter from Bondi. “This ends now.”
Rod Lamkey Jr. through Related Press
Bondi despatched near-identical letters, dated Aug. 13, to mayors of 32 cities and a handful of county executives for jurisdictions that typically refuse to help with federal immigration raids.
The lawyer normal demanded a response that “confirms your commitment to complying with federal law and identifies the immediate initiatives you are taking to eliminate laws, policies, and practices that impede federal immigration enforcement.”
Wu blasted Trump throughout her press convention for having to “pick up the pieces of your failures.”
“Most of all, you are wrong on cities,” Wu mentioned. “The cities that live in your minds are totally foreign to the residents living in our cities, and we are picking up the pieces of your failures to deliver on your promises.”
Oakland, California, Mayor Barbara Lee (D) informed NewsNation that Trump is “fearmongering” about her metropolis regardless of the crime price there being down.
“He’s fearmongering and trying to distract from his difficulties he’s having,” Lee informed NewsNation. “Militarizing a city is unconstitutional.”
Lee was referring to Trump’s deployment of Nationwide Guard troops to Washington, D.C., and his latest feedback suggesting Oakland may very well be subsequent to see boots on the bottom.
In Oakland, crime is down almost 30% from this time final yr, in accordance with information from the Oakland Police Division.
“The truth is, our crime rate is coming down,” Lee informed NewsNation. “Do we have more work to do? Absolutely, yes, but this doesn’t make any sense.”
In Wu’s letter in response to Bondi, she mentioned the Trump administration has engaged in “false and continuous attacks on American cities and millions of our residents.”
“These attacks all come back to a common aim: the Trump administration seeks to divide, isolate, and intimidate our cities, and make Americans fearful of one another,” she added.
She went on to say that Boston “is the safest major city in America” because of “decades of community policing and partnership between local law enforcement and community leaders, who share a commitment to making Boston a safe and welcoming home for everyone.”
Wu wrote that the Structure offers native governments the liberty to supervise public security “without the threat of unlawful interference from the federal government.”
“The Founding Fathers included these protections as a direct result of the attempted coercion of Boston by an unaccountable and distant monarch, and this city’s refusal to bow down to tyranny,” she continued.
Wu particularly cited the Boston Belief Act, which permits native police to reject working with immigration officers.
“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.
Including that Boston stands in solidarity with “the cities and communities targeted by this federal administration,” Wu concluded: “Boston will never back down from being a beacon of freedom, and a home for everyone.”
At her press convention, Wu additionally took a swipe at Trump’s continued makes an attempt to distract from releasing extra info associated to late convicted intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“Under the Trump administration, groceries are less affordable, housing is harder to build, cures for cancer are farther away, and good news on our economy has been as hard to find as the Epstein list,” she mentioned.
