Boston mayor Wu draws federal backlash for comparing masked ICE agents to neo-Nazis
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is taking heat from federal officials after comparing masked ICE agents to 'secret police' and suggesting similarities to a neo-Nazi group during immigration enforcement operations.
Catch up
The latest rebuke against Wu — who is running for re-election — erupted in late May after she told WBUR that people are 'getting snatched off the street by secret police who are wearing masks and can offer no justification for why certain people are being taken and then detained.' Her comments came amid heightened immigration enforcement operations, including the March arrest of Turkish student Rumeysa Ozturk by masked, plain-clothed ICE agents in a Boston suburb.
Federal officials defended the mask-wearing practice by highlighting safety concerns. ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons told reporters, 'People are out there taking photos of the names, their faces and posting them online with death threats to their family and themselves.'
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Escalation of comments
Last week, Wu drew parallels between ICE agents and NSC-131, a New England-based neo-Nazi group. 'I don't know of any police department that routinely wears masks,' she told reporters. 'We know that there are other groups that routinely wear masks. NSC-131 routinely wears masks.' But when pressed on whether she was equating ICE with the organization, Wu declined to directly answer and instead reiterated that local police departments do not routinely wear masks.
In response, the Department of Homeland Security called the comparison 'sickening,' while White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson slammed her broader comments as 'disgusting, dangerous attacks on law enforcement.'
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The big picture
Wu's confrontation with federal authorities builds on her March 5 congressional testimony before a Republican-led House Oversight Committee, where she defended Boston's sanctuary policies by asserting that it is 'the safest major city in the country.'
The mayor shows no signs of retreating. Yesterday, she signed an executive order mandating regular Freedom of Information Act requests for ICE arrest details, saying 'it is our responsibility to make sure that communication between our residents and the city of Boston in every manner is designed to boost trust and boost collaboration.' She also advised border czar Tom Homan to 'take a time out' on ICE operations nationwide.
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