Sept. 5 (UPI) — The U.S. Department of Justice filed suit against the city of Boston, its Mayor Michelle Wu, the Boston Police Department and police commissioner over its so-called sanctuary city laws.
The Justice Department said in a press release Thursday that the practices in the Boston Trust Act, enacted in 2014, “interfere with the federal government’s enforcement of its immigration laws.”
The law allows Boston police to collaborate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement only “on issues of significant public safety, such as human trafficking, child exploitation, drug and weapons trafficking, and cybercrimes, while refraining from involvement in civil immigration enforcement,” the city said.
“The City of Boston and its mayor have been among the worst sanctuary offenders in America — they explicitly enforce policies designed to undermine law enforcement and protect illegal aliens from justice,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “If Boston won’t protect its citizens from illegal alien crime, this Department of Justice will.”
The Department of Justice said Boston’s law allows the “release of dangerous criminals from police custody who would otherwise be subject to removal, including illegal aliens convicted of aggravated assault, burglary, and drug and human trafficking, onto the streets.”
In a statement, Wu vowed to not back down and said the “unconstitutional attack on our city is not a surprise.”
“Boston is a thriving community, the economic and cultural hub of New England, and the safest major city in the country — but this administration is intent on attacking our community to advance their own authoritarian agenda,” she said. “This is our city, and we will vigorously defend our laws and the constitutional rights of cities, which have been repeatedly upheld in courts across the country. We will not yield.”
The Justice Department has filed similar suits against Los Angeles and New York City.
In July, a federal judge dismissed the Justice Department’s lawsuit against Illinois, Cook County and Chicago over sanctuary laws.
On Aug. 13, Bondi sent a letter to Wu warning her that officials who obstruct federal immigration could face criminal charges or civil liability.
Wu responded on Aug. 19, citing the Chicago dismissal.
“Courts have consistently held, as recently as last month, that local public safety laws like the Boston Trust Act are valid exercises of local authority and fully consistent with federal law,” she wrote.
In August, a federal judge extended his preliminary injunction that blocks the Trump administration from withholding funds for 34 sanctuary jurisdictions.
Those cities include Boston, Chicago, Denver and Los Angeles.
Bondi in August published a list of “sanctuary jurisdictions,” which she said “impede law enforcement and put American citizens at risk by design.”