President Trump’s top immigration official announced Wednesday that Boston will face an increase in federal immigration agents after city leaders vowed not to comply with federal pressure to alter local immigration policies.
At a rally outside City Hall on Tuesday, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu declared the city would not assist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with locating, detaining, or deporting immigrants.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons countered on Wednesday, saying Boston “will see a larger ICE presence.”
Wu and other officials have long argued that their immigration stance makes the city safer. Boston’s “Trust Act” allows local police to collaborate with ICE in criminal cases but restricts cooperation on civil immigration enforcement. City leaders say the law improves community trust and public safety.
The Trump administration disagrees, claiming the policy obstructs efforts to detain dangerous individuals. Federal leaders have stepped up criticism of Boston and other so-called “sanctuary cities,” though city officials insist the laws do not shield criminals.
Last week, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi gave Boston and nearly three dozen cities until Tuesday to explain how they would reverse such policies.
“Here is our response: Stop attacking our cities to hide your administration’s failures,” Wu said at City Hall. “Unlike the Trump administration, Boston follows the law. And Boston will not back down from who we are and what we stand for.”
Lyons, speaking on “The Howie Carr Show” Wednesday, confirmed Boston would see a surge in ICE agents. When asked whether the approach would mirror federal deployments in Washington, D.C., Lyons responded, “100%.”
“Now you’re going to see more ICE agents come to Boston,” he said. “We’re definitely going to … flood the zone, especially in sanctuary jurisdictions.”
The expanded presence could resemble ICE’s May operation across Massachusetts, which detained nearly 1,500 people. At the time, Lyons warned: “Make no mistake: ICE is going to keep doing this.”
Wu, a Democrat, has frequently sparred with the Trump administration over immigration policy this year. In March, she testified before a Republican-led congressional committee investigating sanctuary laws alongside Democratic mayors from other cities.
Although Bondi did not specify immediate penalties for noncompliance, the Trump administration has previously threatened lawsuits, funding cuts, or even prosecution of officials.
Wu said Boston is ready to fight back if funding is withheld. She pointed to the city’s lawsuit earlier this year after federal officials blocked money for homelessness programs — a judge ruled the cuts unconstitutional.
She also criticized new grant requirements that direct funds toward border security. Wu said Boston, which has received such grants for more than two decades, already conducts harbor patrols and similar efforts.
“We are going to continue to apply for those grant funds, and if they are rejected … we will go to court again,” Wu said. “Where possible, we are leaning on the law, which is in our corner.”
Mayoral candidate Josh Kraft, Wu’s chief challenger, denounced the administration’s moves as “another unhinged and bigoted attack targeting our nation’s immigrants.” He argued that Boston must not permit ICE to “raid schools or places of worship” to target undocumented residents.
Asked about Lyons’s remarks, Kraft pledged to protect immigrants by working with Congress to fast-track naturalization for those “doing the right thing.”
The ACLU of Massachusetts also criticized the plan. “Deploying a surge of federal immigration officers to Boston is a blatant abuse of power,” said Carol Rose, the group’s executive director. “Boston is the safest city in America, and everyone knows that these threats have nothing to do with public safety. It’s just a crude authoritarian attempt to attack America’s great cities and to silence political opponents.”
