Boston mayor defiant as Trump admin demands cooperation with deportations

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu issued a fiery rebuke of the Trump administration on Tuesday after Attorney General Pam Bondi demanded that the city comply with mass deportation efforts or face the withdrawal of federal funding.

"Last week, Boston received a letter from the attorney general of the United States... threatening to prosecute city officials and withhold federal funds unless we cooperate with carrying out mass deportations," she stated in a public event. "At a time when this federal administration is already causing so much fear and harm in our communities, these threats are serious and consequential."

"But our communities have told me loud and clear that silence in the face of oppression is not an option," she went on. "The U.S. attorney general asked for a response by today, so here it is. here is our response: stop attacking our cities to hide your administration's failures... Boston will not back down from who we are and what we stand for."

Wu's defiance comes as the federal government has sought the cooperate of major American city governments and initiated lawsuits against a number of sanctuary municipalities.

Los Angeles, for its part, became the subject of a federal crackdown in the wake of anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) riots. Washington, D.C., meanwhile, has seen the federal usurpation of its police force as part of a broader crackdown on crime, homelessness, and illegal immigration in the nation's capital.

Thus far, only New York City Mayor Eric Adams has offered even limited cooperation with the federal government.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.