Boston mayor doubles down on sanctuary city policies after Trump admin threatens federal funding

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu slammed the Trump administration on Tuesday dismissing federal threats over the city’s sanctuary policies and directly challenging Attorney General Pam Bondi.

“At a time when this federal administration is already causing so much fear and harm in our communities, these threats are serious and consequential,” Wu said. She accused the Trump administration of being “a party that doesn’t follow the law.”

Wu responded to Bondi’s letter, which demanded replies by Tuesday: “Stop attacking our cities to hide your administration's failures. Unlike the Trump administration, Boston follows the law… You are wrong on the law, and you are wrong on safety.”

The letter from Bondi that was sent to several sanctuary city jurisdictions threatened to pull federal funding from governments that did not comply.  

“The cities that live in your minds are totally foreign to the residents living in our cities. And we are picking up the pieces of your failures to deliver on your promises,” Wu said, adding, “Good news on our economy has been as hard to find as the Epstein list.”

Wu tied her remarks to Boston’s historical role in the nation’s founding compared with Bondi’s home state of Florida. “We are gathered here today to show you who we are in Boston. More than 100 years before your home state was founded, Bostonians were across the street in Faneuil Hall, setting the foundation for our democracy and rule of law. One hundred years before that, Bostonians were founding the first public school and public park in the country.”

“This has always been a city of revolution, of innovation, of standing up for the public good and never bowing down to tyranny. With me today, our fellow public servants and veterans, public safety and faith leaders, civil rights advocates, and labor union members, teachers and business owners, entrepreneurs and artists, youth and seniors. This is our city. This is our country, and I'm so proud and grateful to show the world who our community is here in Boston and what we're made of,” Wu said.

The press conference drew a crowd that included a Mariachi band performing in Spanish before the mayor spoke, a local preacher, and Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA).

Other leaders also responded to Bondi’s letter. Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, who received an identical missive from the Justice Department, promised a full response later Tuesday but signaled his stance earlier in the week: “Washington state has no intention of changing our values in the face of threats from the Trump administration. The federal government’s relentless targeting of law-abiding immigrants is wrong.”