The Trump administration escalated its clash with Boston this week as Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons vowed a major increase in federal immigration enforcement in the city, following Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu’s refusal to cooperate with federal authorities on immigration matters.
“We’re definitely going to, as you’ve heard the saying, flood the zone, especially in sanctuary jurisdictions,” Lyons said Wednesday in an interview on The Howie Carr Show. “Boston and Massachusetts decided to say that they wanted to stay [a] sanctuary. Sanctuary does not mean safer streets. It means more criminal aliens out and about the neighborhood. But 100 percent, you will see a larger ICE presence.”
The remarks came one day after Mayor Wu issued a sharp rebuke of the Trump administration’s demands that cities end their sanctuary policies. “Boston will not bow down to unconstitutional threats or unlawful coercion from the federal government,” Wu said Tuesday.
Her statement was prompted by letters sent last week from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to 32 state and local governments, including Boston.
The letters warned jurisdictions that they could lose federal funding or face legal action if they failed to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. Bondi’s office set a Tuesday deadline for responses.
“The U.S. Attorney General asked for a response by today, so here it is: stop attacking our cities to hide your administration’s failures,” Wu said.
Lyons, however, made clear that the administration will not retreat. He pointed to past enforcement campaigns as proof that ICE intends to prioritize sanctuary jurisdictions. “We did Operation Patriot March, which yielded over 1,000 arrests, and now you’re going to see more ICE agents come to Boston to make sure that we take these public threats out that she wants to let go back in the communities,” he said. “We’re going to keep making America safe.”
Boston has had sanctuary protections in place since 2014, when the city enacted the Boston Trust Act. The law bars local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration officials on civil immigration matters, including detaining migrants who are in the country illegally.
For the Trump administration, such policies are viewed as direct threats to public safety. Lyons argued that refusing to work with ICE only increases risks for law-abiding residents. “Sanctuary does not mean safer streets,” he emphasized. “It means more criminal aliens out and about the neighborhood.”
The battle underscores a fundamental divide between local Democratic leaders and the federal government on immigration enforcement.
While Mayor Wu framed her defiance as a defense of constitutional principles, ICE leadership framed it as a refusal to protect residents from dangerous criminals.
As Lyons put it: “We’re definitely going to flood the zone.”
The stage now appears set for a showdown, with federal agents preparing to expand their footprint in Boston even as city leaders vow to resist. Whether Boston’s sanctuary laws can withstand heightened federal scrutiny remains an open question — but for now, the Trump administration has signaled it is ready to test the limits.
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