Boston is preparing for another face-off with the federal government after President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday to publish a list of so-called “sanctuary cities” around the country.
Boston has already been targeted for its sanctuary laws, which limit how much local law enforcement can cooperate with federal immigration authorities on civil legal matters. In March, Mayor Michelle Wu testified before Congress about the laws, which supporters say make the city safer for all residents.
While there is no guarantee that the city will be on the list, officials are bracing for the worst but still leaning into the existing policies.
“It doesn’t help anyone’s safety when segments of our community are afraid to call 911 to ask for help or to report a crime or to offer information when they might be a witness to a crime,” Wu said at an unrelated event Monday.
While there is no legal definition of a “sanctuary jurisdiction,” it is typically described as a jurisdiction with laws that prohibit law enforcement officers from working on non-criminal cases with Immigration and Customs Enforcement or from carrying out ICE detainer requests on undocumented residents.
While Boston has not been officially designated a sanctuary city, police are prohibited from cooperating on civil cases, though they still work with federal authorities regularly on criminal cases. Officials also do not ask about immigration status when providing city services.
In the rest of the state, a 2017 Supreme Judicial Court decision prohibited state and local law enforcement from arresting or holding someone based only on a civil immigration detainer. Because of this, most law enforcement agencies outside of Boston can notify ICE that a suspect has a court appearance or has been released. However, they cannot otherwise aid the federal authorities in taking them into custody.
The executive order signed Monday instructs Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to publish a list of sanctuary cities and states within 30 days. Once the list is published and places included are notified, federal agencies must identify any grants and contracts they have provided to those cities and states, which could be canceled.
“It’s quite simple, obey the law, respect the law and don’t obstruct federal immigration officials and law-enforcement officials when they are simply trying to remove public safety threats from our nation’s communities,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday.
In addition to calling the mayor to testify before Congress, the federal government has targeted Boston on several occasions. Tom Homan, Trump’s “border czar,” famously said in February that he would be “bringing hell” to the city.
Wu has repeatedly declined to back down. However, she has repeatedly touted Boston’s status as the “safest major city” in the country in response to demands for changes to the policy.
“I’ve said it before Congress. We’ll continue saying it. The courts have backed us up on this as well. State law in Massachusetts, city ordinances here in the city of Boston, means that we are safe for everyone,” Wu said Monday. “That requires each and every person to feel part of our community, to know that they belong and to be part of keeping everyone in our community safe.”
The mayor said during an interview on WGBH earlier this month that city officials were doing “scenario planning” in case federal funds were cut, so they could be prepared.
The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office currently has one direct federal grant that funds the prosecution of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking cases, a spokesperson for District Attorney Kevin Hayden said.
“While we do not know if that grant would be affected by the executive order, it would harm many victims of those crimes if it was,” the spokesperson wrote in an email. “No administration can claim to enhance public safety while pursuing measures that can potentially harm public safety.”
The DA’s Office does not assist or hinder ICE operations and does not expect to change that policy regardless of whether Boston is included on the list, he added.
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