Boston City Council unanimously votes to back mayor in standoff with federal ICE agents
The Boston City Council reiterated its opposition to increased immigration enforcement this week after reports of federal agents detaining people around the city.
During its weekly meeting Wednesday, the council voted unanimously to support a letter sent by Mayor Michelle Wu last month to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, in which Wu emphasized the city's policy of not cooperating with civil immigration enforcement.
Multiple councilors shared stories from their communities of residents being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as evidence that the resolution was needed.
District 9 Councilor Liz Breadon said that very morning, a mother had been detained near Brighton High School on her way to take her child to school. She had an elementary-school-aged child in the car.
"We are not saying if the federal authorities come to the (Boston Police Department) with a warrant for a criminal conviction that the BPD can't, in that instance, support the federal authorities in apprehending that criminal. But what's happening on our streets is not that," Breadon said. "This is intimidation and frightening our immigrant community."
In Boston, a local law known as the Trust Act allows Boston Police Department officers to work with ICE on criminal investigations, but limits their ability to cooperate on or share information related to civil immigration enforcement efforts.
The law, enacted in 2014, has spurred attacks from the Trump administration, including a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit against the city and a "surge" of ICE activity in the area that started late last week.
In her Aug. 19 letter to Bondi, Wu said Boston was following state and local laws and would not back down from the federal government's demands.
Breadon and Councilor-at-Large Julia Mejia filed a nonbinding resolution expressing "strong support" for the letter on Aug. 25, but District 2 Councilor Ed Flynn initially delayed a vote on it, requesting that a hearing be held first.
Though Flynn eventually voted in favor of the resolution on Wednesday, he reiterated his desire for a hearing, saying he wanted more information about what the police department is doing.
"I also think it's important for this body to focus on local issues and city issues," he added.
Other councilors strongly disagreed, arguing that they had already heard support for the Trust Act from police and constituents, and that ICE's presence was directly affecting the community.
Council President Ruthzee Louijeune said she had heard of people avoiding work and school out of fear, and even of increases in domestic violence because immigrants were unwilling to call the police in case it put them at risk.
Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata, her voice shaking with emotion, called Flynn's comments "offensive," adding that ICE agents had recently taken an East Boston mother in front of her 9- and 11-year-old children.
"We are sending a message to our residents and our neighbors that we care about them, we care about their well-being and we care about their safety," she said.
Other councilors shared stories of ICE showing up at local restaurants, waiting outside Fenway Park and parking outside a church during a Spanish-language service.
"This is not the way we want to live," Breadon said.
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