By Steve Neavling
The head of ICE is threatening to increase enforcement in Boston after Mayor Michelle Wu refused to abandon the city’s sanctuary protections, NBC News reports.
Todd Lyons, acting director of ICE, said on conservative radio host Howie Carr’s show Wednesday that the agency would expand its presence in Massachusetts.
“We’re definitely going to, as you’ve heard the saying, flood the zone, especially in sanctuary jurisdictions,” Lyons said. “Obviously Boston and Massachusetts decided that they wanted to stay sanctuary. … So 100%, you’re going to see more ICE presence.”
Wu has vowed not to back down.
“This is a beautiful, diverse, incredible city, and I have said it now very directly: This administration needs to stop attacking cities to hide their own failures,” she told reporters Thursday.
The dispute escalated last week when the Justice Department sent letters to 35 jurisdictions demanding they end their sanctuary policies or face the loss of federal funding and possible prosecution of local officials.
“This ends now,” Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote.
Wu responded with a sharply worded letter, calling the administration’s demands an “attack” and a tactic to “make Americans fearful of one another.”
She added, “Boston will never back down from being a beacon of freedom, and a home for everyone.”
Boston first adopted sanctuary protections in 2014 with the Trust Act, which limits cooperation with ICE on civil immigration enforcement but allows collaboration in cases involving serious crimes. The City Council reaffirmed the measure at the end of 2024, saying it “has been instrumental in fostering a safe and welcoming environment for all residents.”
