Boston Mayor Wu is promising to maintain the city’s “sanctuary” status in the face of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration. However, she may find that to be a bigger challenge than she bargained for, since the ICE director is now vowing to flood her city with immigration agents to track down offenders.
Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons said this week that federal immigration agents will dramatically expand their presence in Boston, escalating a long-simmering clash between local officials and the Trump administration.
“We’re definitely going to … flood the zone, especially in sanctuary jurisdictions,” Lyons said in an interview on Wednesday’s “The Howie Carr Show.”
“Boston and Massachusetts decided to say that they wanted to stay sanctuary. Sanctuary does not mean safer streets. It means more criminal aliens out and about the neighborhood. But 100%, you will see a larger ICE presence,” Lyons added.
The comments came one day after Wu publicly rebuffed Attorney General Pam Bondi’s ultimatum that Boston and other cities either repeal sanctuary city laws or risk cuts to federal funding. At a press conference on Tuesday, Wu forcefully defended Boston’s policies and accused the administration of scapegoating immigrant communities.
“Stop attacking our cities to hide your administration’s failures. Unlike the Trump administration, Boston follows the law, and Boston will not back down from who we are or what we stand for. We will not back away from our community that has made us the safest city in the country,” a defiant Wu said.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu reiterates that she WILL NOT COMPLY with the Trump admin and the DOJ to cooperate with ICE, says deporting criminal illegals is “oppression”
DEFUND BOSTON AND CHARGE MICHELLE WU
. @TheJusticeDept @DHSgov pic.twitter.com/A84Dbbs3d0
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 19, 2025
Boston has maintained sanctuary protections since 2014, when the city adopted a “Trust Act” that bars local police from holding individuals solely on ICE detainers unless federal agents obtain a warrant. Wu has consistently backed the policy, arguing it builds trust between law enforcement and immigrant residents.
But federal officials say sanctuary rules undermine public safety by preventing ICE from taking custody of individuals who have been convicted of crimes and are otherwise subject to deportation. Lyons accused Wu and other local leaders of ignoring the risks.
“That’s the issue we’re seeing in so many jurisdictions,” he said. “We have so many men and women on the Boston Police Department and other jurisdictions that are so pro-ICE, that want to work with us and that are actually helping us behind the scenes.”
“That’s what I think local leaders don’t understand, is they need to talk to the men and women on the ground, because … there are so many of these criminal aliens that keep getting released to go out and commit more crimes that the local law enforcement have to deal with. We can take that violent criminal alien instantly out of the neighborhood,” Lyons added.
Bondi has given sanctuary jurisdictions until the end of the year to comply or face the loss of federal public safety grants. Boston receives millions annually in federal funds for policing, emergency management and homeland security initiatives. City officials have vowed to challenge any cuts in court, setting up what could be a protracted legal battle.
The showdown in Boston reflects a broader national campaign by the Trump administration to dismantle sanctuary laws, which are on the books in more than 100 cities and counties across the United States.
Boston has one of the largest immigrant populations in New England, with nearly 30% of its residents born outside the United States, according to census data. Wu has framed the sanctuary policy as essential to the city’s identity, describing Boston as “a city of immigrants.”
