Immigration sanctuary policies in the birthplace of the American Revolution continue to brighten the spotlight on a mayor seeking reelection and prosecutors and agents working in the Trump administration.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu was critical of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies long before the month-long Operation Patriot in Massachusetts produced 1,461 arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and federal lawmen. ICE said 790 had convictions or faced charges of crimes in the United States and abroad.
Boston and Massachusetts in general are recognized as jurisdictions with little or limited cooperation with ICE.
Leah Foley, a U.S. attorney in Massachusetts, responded this week to criticism from the mayor by saying federal prosecutors and lawmen “will not apologize for doing our job. She called Wu’s recent statements inflammatory and reckless.
“Referring to federal agents as ‘secret police’ is offensive,” Foley said. “There are no secret police. ICE agents, along with other federal law enforcement partners, are making immigration arrests. That is no secret. They are arresting individuals who are here illegally, which is a violation of federal law.”
Wu in April said unconfirmed reports to her office indicated federal agents committed property damage, such as smashing windshields, and were “snatching people off the street who have no criminal record whatsoever.” She was also critical of standard protocol of agents concealing their identities with masks, a measure used for safety.
“I don’t know of any police department that routinely wears masks,” Wu said. “We know that there are other groups that routinely wear masks. NSC-131 routinely wears masks.”
The reference is to Nationalist Social Club-131, an American neo-Nazi organization. The numbers represent an alphanumeric code for anti-Communist action.
For context, undercover lawmen across the country – whether police or deputies in sheriff’s offices, for example – do routinely use various means to conceal their identities.
The wearing of masks, however, has come under scrutiny in part because of forced government regulations during COVID-19, and because of the actions of some at events of protest. Notable on the latter are protests about the war in the Middle East between Hamas and Israel that claimed more than 50,000 lives.
Todd Lyons, interim director for ICE, late Thursday called out Wu and U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., for their comments about his agents.
“Politicians need to stop putting my people in danger,” he said. “I’m not asking them to stop. I’m demanding that they stop.
“These are real people with real families you’re hurting with your ridiculous rhetoric and inflammatory comments and it’s time to remember that.”
Abigail Jackson, speaking for the White House on Thursday evening, said, “Because of dangerous, unhinged smears from the Left, ICE officers are facing a 413% increase in assaults. It’s disturbing that Democrats like Mayor Wu would side with illegal immigrants over Americans and stoke hatred against American law enforcement.”
Foley said the actions in Massachusetts have been within “the bounds of the Constitution and our laws” with oversight, legal justification and accountability.
“To claim otherwise,” she said, “is a gross misrepresentation and a disservice to the public.”
Wu is challenged in the mayoral election by Josh Kraft, a philanthropist and one of four sons to New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Early polling puts them atop a field that also has Domingos DaRosa, Robert Capucci, Berry Homer Adams, John Houton, Alex Winston, Kerry Augustin and Jorge Mendoza-Iurralde.
Wu won her first term in November 2021 with 64% of the vote. Foley was named U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts on Jan. 20.
Wu, first Asian American to hold the mayor’s title in Boston, is no stranger to what others see as controversy. An email to all Boston City Council members rather than just the six minority members was an invitation to an “Electeds of Color Holiday Party” in December 2023. Contracts with the powerful Boston Police Patromen’s Association, budget cuts and political endorsements have also drawn scrutiny.
