Trump administration presses Boston to ditch ‘sanctuary' policies
Bondi outlined her demands to Wu and the leaders of other jurisdictions that the Trump administration believes are impeding his immigration enforcement efforts in letters dated Wednesday.
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'This ends now,' Bondi wrote, according to a copy of the letter shared with the Globe.
US Senator Edward Markey, a Malden Democrat, on Saturday accused Bondi of picking a fight to score political points.
'I know Mayor Wu and Boston leaders are working hard to keep Boston one of the safest big cities in the country, to uphold state and local laws, and to treat all residents with dignity and respect,' he said in a statement.
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US Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Cambridge, said Boston is
'Instead of dividing and distracting, he should be focused on lowering costs and making life better for people across the country,' she said in a statement.
US Representative Ayanna Pressley, a former Boston city councilor and Democrat, said Boston is welcoming and expressed support for Wu.
'This authoritarian Administration does not care about keeping our communities safe - their strategy is to divide, fear monger, and target vulnerable people as they distract from the fact that they're ripping away healthcare and giving taxpayers' cash to billionaires,' she said in a statement.
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In March,
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The city's
Nearly 80 percent of Boston voters said they have at least a somewhat favorable view of that policy, and more than 62 percent said they have a 'strongly favorable' opinion of the Trust Act, the poll found.
Josh Kraft, a Democrat who is challenging Wu in this year's mayor's race, said Bondi's demands are 'just another unhinged and bigoted attack targeting our nation's immigrants.'
'We cannot yield to Donald Trump and his band of thugs,' he said in a statement Saturday.
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City Councilor Ed Flynn of South Boston said the city is proud of its immigrant roots, but he supports the prosecution of people engaged in criminal behavior regardless of whether they're in the country legally.
'Boston is an international city, and we must have a close working relationship with state and federal law enforcement partners and necessary resources to address any and all public safety issues,' he said in a text message.
Boston
This is the second time Trump officials have included Boston on such a list.
In May, the US Department of Homeland Security published a
The New England states of Rhode Island, Vermont, and Connecticut made the list, as well as the state of New York, New York City, and Rochester, N.Y.
In revealing the new list on Aug. 5, the Justice Department pointed to an array of policies that it sees as impeding the federal government's efforts to enforce immigration law. The examples include local governments declining to cooperate with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, establishing offices to advise 'illegal alien communities' on evading federal law enforcement, and public declarations that seek to undermine immigration enforcement.
In statements on Friday, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont and Attorney General William Tong, both Democrats, accused Bondi of falsely identifying the state as a 'sanctuary' jurisdiction.
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'Connecticut is not a 'sanctuary' state,' Lamont said. 'That term has no legal definition, and it is not an accurate description of our laws and practices.'
'This generic, non-specific form letter lacks any meaningful detail and does not merit a response,' said McKee in a statement to the Globe.
Bondi's letter to Wu doesn't specify the potential consequences the city could face if it doesn't comply, but signals the administration's willingness to consider funding cuts, criminal prosecution, or civil litigation.
Trump outlined possible sanctions in an April
Wu told reporters that legal challenges to Trump's threats to cut off funding have been successful.
'Boston does not back down in the face of threats, certainly when the threats and the tactics cross the line and seem to be against the law as well,' she said.
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In February,
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This year,
Globe correspondent Emily Spatz contributed.
Laura Crimaldi can be reached at
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