Blue city mayor ripped by local leaders for prioritizing politics over safety: 'Undermining public trust'
Local leaders and an immigration expert are slamming Boston's Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu for prioritizing left-wing politics above safety, saying the mayor has proved that she "continues to prioritize political agendas over the safety of Boston residents, particularly women and children."
Wu, who has previously said that Boston would not cooperate with ICE immigration enforcement operations, delivered a raucous "State of the City" address on Wednesday in which she reiterated "we stand with immigrants."
Addressing immigrants directly, Wu said, "You belong here."
"No one tells Boston how to take care of our own, not kings, and not presidents who think they are kings. Boston was born facing down bullies," she said.
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This take, however, enraged some local leaders who say that harboring illegal immigrants from ICE poses a serious threat to local citizens.
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Massachusetts GOP spokesperson Logan Trupiano told Fox News Digital that "there is simply no justifiable reason for her to stand in the way of this critical progress."
Despite her claim in the speech to be speaking for all 700,000 Boston residents, Trupiano pointed out that "polling consistently shows that the majority of Americans support these efforts."
"Mayor Wu must move beyond fearmongering and the mischaracterization of ICE and federal authorities," he said, adding, "The city's sanctuary policies have led to the release of dangerous individuals back into our communities, undermining public trust and security."
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He also pointed to the recent spike in arrests of illegal immigrant child sex predators and other serious criminals in the Boston area.
"ICE has apprehended child predators, drug dealers, and gun runners - individuals responsible for heinous crimes that threaten public safety," said Trupiano. "Given the recent arrests made by ICE in Massachusetts and Boston, it is hard to understand why Mayor Wu continues to oppose the Trump administration's efforts."
Meanwhile, former immigration judge and Center for Immigration Studies policy expert Andrew Arthur told Fox News Digital that sanctuary policies endanger not only citizens but also immigrant communities.
"Sanctuary policies actually harm people in immigrant communities that are sanctuaries because they know that the cops aren't going to turn those people over to ICE, they're going to turn them back out onto the streets. So, they don't want to come forward [to report crimes], because they're afraid that they're going to be retaliated against," he explained.
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"Street cops want criminals off the street," he went on. "They want to help ICE. It's only poorly reasoning public officials that ever promote these policies."
"What we've created is a sanctuary for criminals," said Arthur. "Immigration enforcement is the best way to protect not only communities but immigrant communities in particular."
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Jon Fetherston, a former Massachusetts migrant shelter director who lives in the Boston area, told Fox News Digital that Wu's policies "prioritize political agendas over the safety of Boston residents" and have "emboldened criminal networks, making our communities more dangerous."
He said that Wu's "Trump Derangement Syndrome" has "made all of us unsafe, especially women and children."
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He pointed to the recent arrests of Guatemalan national Sostenes Perez-Lopez, who was charged with two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child in Brighton, and Bilal Karayigit, an illegal Turkish national, who was apprehended in Burlington after being charged with raping a Massachusetts resident.
"Tom Homan cannot get to Boston fast enough!" he said. "Continuing on this path not only endangers our communities but also undermines the rule of law."Original article source: Blue city mayor ripped by local leaders for prioritizing politics over safety: 'Undermining public trust'
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