Tuesday is the federal government’s deadline for so called sanctuary jurisdictions, including Boston, to submit a plan of compliance with the White House’s immigration policies.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu says the city will send a response — but that’s not to say it will end its sanctuary policies. Consequences from the Trump Administration if Boston does not fall in line remain unclear. However, the Department of Justice has threatened to pull federal funding and even file civil suits if the city does not comply.
Earlier this month, U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi sent letters to 35 sanctuary jurisdictions, including Boston, demanding a response by Aug. 19 explaining how they will comply with the DOJ order to eliminate laws that impede federal actions — namely on immigration.
In other words, the Trump Administration wants places like Boston to have its police work more in concert with ICE, by honoring ICE detainers. This means having local police to hold someone, even if that person is otherwise eligible to be released. That would give federal agents time to show up to a jail or court and taken them into custody.
The Department of Justice has given a deadline of Tuesday for dozens of sanctuary jurisdictions to comply with the federal government’s immigration crackdown.
The issue is, there is a state Supreme Judicial Court ruling that prohibits police in Massachusetts from holding someone on civil immigration detainers.
Wu did not explicitly say how she plans to respond to Bondi’s letter, but that response will come.
“Unlike the Trump administration Boston follows the law and we will respond and have more to share on that when we finalize our response,” Wu said. “Boston is a home for everyone, we will never back down from who we are and what we stand for.”
Also on the DOJ list are the states of Connecticut, Vermont and Rhode Island. About a dozen sanctuary towns and cities in the Bay State were not named by the AG. They will likely be looking to Boston as an example of how to respond.
Wu is expected to address the content of her response later Tuesday morning.
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