Boston’s deadline to cooperate with the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration is just one day away.
The U.S. Department of Justice sent out letters last week giving Boston and other sanctuary cities until Tuesday to submit a plan of compliance. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu received the letter along with 32 other mayors and governors across the country.
The Department of Justice has threatened to pull federal funding and even file civil suits if Boston does not comply.
“You are hereby notified that your jurisdiction has been identified as one that engages in sanctuary policies and practices that thwart federal immigration enforcement to the detriment of the interests of the United States. This ends now. By Tuesday, August 19, 2025, please submit a response to this letter that confirms your commitment to complying with federal law and identifies the immediate initiatives you are taking to eliminate laws, policies, and practices that impede federal immigration enforcement. This letter does not constitute final agency action and nothing in this letter creates any right or benefit enforceable at law against the United States,” the letter from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi read.
The Trump administration gave Boston until Tuesday to submit a plan of compliance regarding immigration enforcement.
Bondi elaborated on the letters during an interview on Fox News on Thursday night: “I sent out letters to all of these mayors and to the governors, saying, ‘You must comply. We want to know what you’re doing to comply with our federal government.’ So we’re going to see. I’ll let you know how they respond.”
At a media event Monday, Wu would only tell us the city is still finalizing a response.
“Boston is a home for everyone,” she said. “We will never back down from who we are and what we stand for.”
The mayor indicated more information on the city’s response would be shared on Tuesday.
Boston is finalizing its response to the Justice Department’s demand for details on how it plans to enforce federal immigration law, Mayor Michelle Wu said, adding that “we will never back down from who we are.” Political commentator Sue O’Connell shares how much Boston could lose in the worst-case scenario, plus what the city’s obligations are.
Osdir Claros joined a rally outside Boston City Hall calling for Wu to stand her ground.
“It really lies in the decision of the mayor,” said Claros. “I hope that Michelle Wu makes the right decision. I hope that she keeps this city a sanctuary city.”
A 2017 court ruling at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court lays out why police in the state can’t hold someone in custody solely on a civil immigration detainer.
“We don’t arrest on civil violations. We only arrest on warrants or, in a criminal case, on probable cause,” said former Yarmouth Police Chief Frank Frederickson, who now heads the New England Chiefs of Police and serves as the director of government affairs with the Massachusetts Fraternal Order of Police.
Frederickson says the Lunn vs. Commonwealth ruling is very clear.
“We can’t go beyond authorities that are vested in our position,” he said. “The Lunn decision defined this particular issue, that we cannot hold people simply on a civil immigration detainer. It’s really that simple.”
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell cited the case earlier this year in a guide titled “KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: ICE Enforcement.”
“A civil detainer is a request from ICE to keep a person in custody until ICE agents can arrest them. Similar to an administrative warrant, a civil detainer is issued by ICE — not a judge,” Campbell’s office wrote in the guide. “Lunn does not limit state and local law enforcement from acting in accordance with state law to protect public safety; it simply makes clear that federal civil detainers are not themselves legal grounds for detention.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi sent letters to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and dozens of other government leaders across the country with lists of demands.
Wu said in a statement last week after receiving Bondi’s letter, “Unlike the Trump administration, Boston follows the law.” She later elaborated on camera.
“We are going to continue to stand up for the city of Boston,” she said. “Boston does not back down to bullies. Boston does not back down in the face of threats.”
Wu has previously testified about Boston’s sanctuary city status before Congress, insisting that policies limiting interaction with federal law enforcement don’t violate federal laws but do promote trust and safety in the community.
“Everyone in our community also has a role to play in keeping each other safe,” Wu said. “We keep each other safe in Boston. We don’t need an authoritarian administration to come in and try to instill fear and intimidate us.”
She added that the city is working on its written response to Bondi’s letter and would share it when it’s complete.
In a press release Monday afternoon, Wu’s office said the mayor will join community members and elected officials at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in City Hall Plaza to respond to the Department of Justice’s letter “and highlight the community policing, partnerships, and investments that make Boston the safest major city in America.”