The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Thursday against the city of Boston, Mayor Michelle Wu and others in its latest challenge to sanctuary policies for undocumented immigrants.
The lawsuit alleges the city's policies are an "intentional effort to obstruct" the enforcement of federal immigration laws.
"The City of Boston and its Mayor have been among the worst sanctuary offenders in America -- they explicitly enforce policies designed to undermine law enforcement and protect illegal aliens from justice," said Attorney General Pam Bondi. "If Boston won't protect its citizens from illegal alien crime, this Department of Justice will."
The Boston Police Department and its police commissioner, Michael Cox, are also named as defendants in the lawsuit, filed Thursday in federal court.
The complaint focuses on the Boston Trust Act, which was originally enacted in 2014 and allows Boston police to collaborate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement "on issues of significant public safety, such as human trafficking, child exploitation, drug and weapons trafficking, and cybercrimes, while refraining from involvement in civil immigration enforcement," the city said.
A resolution adopted by the Boston City Council in December 2024 that reaffirmed the Trust Act states the measure's provisions "have been instrumental in fostering a safe and welcoming environment for all residents, ensuring that immigrants can engage with local law enforcement without fear of deportation, thereby enhancing public safety and community trust."
The DOJ's complaint alleges that the act's provisions are "deliberately impeding" federal immigration officers and "impairing federal detention of removable aliens, including dangerous criminals."
The complaint cites a letter Wu sent to Bondi last month in which the mayor said that "Boston will never back down from being a beacon of freedom, and a home for everyone."
The DOJ lawsuit states: "Her resistance endangers public safety, resulting in a number of criminals being released into Boston who should have been held for immigration removal from the United States."
The DOJ argues the act should be declared unlawful under the Constitution's Supremacy Clause.
In a statement in response to the lawsuit, Wu said the "unconstitutional attack on our city is not a surprise" and vowed not to back down.
“Boston is a thriving community, the economic and cultural hub of New England, and the safest major city in the country -- but this administration is intent on attacking our community to advance their own authoritarian agenda," Wu said. "This is our City, and we will vigorously defend our laws and the constitutional rights of cities, which have been repeatedly upheld in courts across the country. We will not yield.”
The DOJ has filed similar legal challenges against Los Angeles and New York City, among other places.
In July, a federal judge dismissed the DOJ's lawsuit against Illinois, Cook County and Chicago over sanctuary laws.
In her Aug. 19 letter to the attorney general, Wu cited that dismissal, writing, "Courts have consistently held, as recently as last month, that local public safety laws like the Boston Trust Act are valid exercises of local authority and fully consistent with federal law."
The mayor's letter was in response to an Aug. 13 letter from Bondi, in which the attorney general warned Wu that officials who obstruct federal immigration enforcement could be subject to criminal charges or civil liability. Bondi asked Wu to respond with ways the city will eliminate laws and policies that impede federal immigration enforcement.
Bondi said she sent the "sanctuary city letters" to the leaders of 32 cities and states the DOJ said had policies and laws impeding the enforcement of federal immigration laws.