House Republicans are calling Boston Mayor Michelle Wu to Washington, D.C., to testify on the city’s immigration-related policies they allege impede removing “dangerous criminals” from the United States.
In a letter, James Comer, the Republican Chair of the House Oversight Committee, asked Wu and the mayors of New York, Chicago and Denver to answer questions at a Feb. 11 hearing about their refusal to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, calling the policies “misguided” and “obstructionist.“
Wu’s team is “still reviewing” the letter and plans to “respond in due time,” the mayor told reporters outside her office in City Hall Tuesday morning.
“It seems that D.C. is going to play politics,” Wu said. “Let them do what they’re doing. We’re going to stay focused on serving our communities here locally.”
Wu has not received a subpoena, and as to whether she plans to comply if one should arrive, “we don’t have to speculate on that just yet,” she said. The mayor touted Boston’s record as a city with low crime and emphasizing the distinction between municipal and federal enforcement.
“We are not forced to participate in their actions, just as they are not asked to carry out filling potholes and other things like that,” she said. “We each have our domain and we feel very strongly that we’re on solid legal ground as we’re following the law every day.”
The Trump administration’s rollout of immigration policies in the first few days of his second term have “largely mirrored the priorities and the same types of actions that took place under federal enforcement under the Biden administration,” Wu said. But she sees notable differences in rhetoric and media exposure, “including Fox News being embedded and going along on these actions.”
“We are in intense and scary times for so many of our community members, and that is by design,” she said.
Municipal governments cannot control what federal authorities do with their power, Wu said.
“What we know here at the local level,” she said, “is that we are not participating in the federal government’s actions.”
City Councilor Ed Flynn has encouraged Wu to coordinate a more cooperative relationship between local law enforcement and federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents.
“I would be open to understanding any recommendations that the councilor is putting forward on that front,” she said. “We work with the federal government every single day.”
Shortly after Wu’s press availability, Flynn told GBH News he has reached out to Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox “many times” and recommended that he communicate with regional ICE official Todd Lyons.
“We knew exactly what President Trump was going to do after he got elected, and we had a period of time to do a lot of the legwork and logistics and communication,” Flynn said. “I don’t think that took place. It’s still not too late.”
Flynn emphasized that collaboration with federal officials is a matter of public safety. During her press conference, Wu took a broader approach to safety that included the safety and security of undocumented residents.
“The entire community is safer when everyone feels like they can trust — reaching out for help, going to their neighbor, taking their kids to school, reporting crimes if they have information, calling 911 when they need help,” she said. “That helps every single person in our community and we have the numbers to back that up.”
Despite heightened pressure, Wu held a hard line that the city’s approach to immigration raids will remain the same.
“We’re very clear in interactions with public safety officials, in schools, in community centers, we don’t ask about immigration status,” she said. “We hold everyone accountable, regardless of immigration status, for any crimes or harm that’s committed.”
