Boston Mayor Michelle Wu reaffirmed her refusal to fully cooperate with the Trump administration’s planned deportations — the same day two illegal immigrants were charged with raping children in Massachusetts.
In response to criticism from incoming Trump border czar Tom Homan, Wu — who had previously said she would maintain Boston’s “sanctuary city” status in defiance of the Trump administration, said Wednesday said she had “no intention of rolling out the welcome mat” for the president-elect and his team.
“They can say whatever they want about me, but our public safety record speaks for itself: Boston is the safest major city in America,” the mayor said. “Our homicide rates are among the lowest of any city nationally, and gun violence has been at an all-time historic low over the last two years here in Boston”
The same day, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s field office in Boston announced it arrested two illegal immigrants for forcibly raping children inclding 42-year-old Billy Erney Buitrago-Bustos of Columbia and 21-year-old Mynor Stiven De Paz-Munoz of Guatamala.
An additional migrant, who was convicted of raping a child in Brazil and sentenced to serve 14 years in prison before fleeing to the United States, was also arrested on Thursday.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey also said she would not assist with federal efforts to deport illegal aliens. Trump’s support in Boston has grown since 2016, when he secured just 14.1% of the vote. Though Boston is still Democrat-dominated, Trump secured 20.4% in November.
Wu first commented on Trump’s deportation plan on November 17th, when she told a local news channel she would not cooperate with deportation efforts, citing the fact that Boston was a sanctuary city.
“Elections have consequences, and the federal government is responsible for a certain set of actions, and cities — no individual city can reverse or override some parts of that,” Wu said. “But what we can do is make sure that we are doing our part to protect our residents in every possible way; that we are not cooperating with those efforts that actually threaten the safety of everyone by causing widespread fear and having large-scale economic impacts.”
Wu stated that under the 2014 Boston Trust Act, the city will not cooperate with resources or personnel on civil immigration detainers unless there is serious criminal activity involved.
When asked if Boston is struggling with the migrant crisis, Wu responded that “resources are stretched,” adding that shelters have been at capacity because of “newly-arrived residents.”
Boston’s struggle with the migrant crisis made national headlines when migrants used a terminal in Boston Logan Airport as a shelter.
Wu added that she is worried about residents who will “retreat into the shadows” and not use city services like schools or call 911 because they fear being deported.
Homan responded to Wu in an interview with Newsmax on Monday, questioning her intelligence and stating that she should either help or “get the hell out of the way,”
“She’s not very smart, I’ll give her that,” Homan said. “President Trump’s going to prioritize public safety threats. What mayor or governor doesn’t want public safety threats out of their communities? That’s your number one responsibility, to protect your communities, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”
“So she helps us or she gets the hell out of the way because we’re going to do it,” he added. “They can not cooperate, but there are certain laws in place that they can’t cross. And I hope she doesn’t cross it.”
Homan pointed to Title 8, United States Code 1324 III, which states that it is against federal law to harbor or conceal an illegal immigrant from a law enforcement officer.
Homan also went after Wu and her mentor, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), in a Monday post on X, where he accused them of driving illegals into their state. He added that Massachusetts would be a “huge focal point when it comes to mass deportations.”
“While Massachusetts puts illegal aliens first, the Trump administration will put Americans first!” Homan said.
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