Trump administration sues Boston in the latest escalation of its confrontation with sanctuary cities

The Trump administration has filed a lawsuit against the city of Boston as part of its nationwide campaign against sanctuary city policies, which limit local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The lawsuit, announced Thursday afternoon, names Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, the city, the Boston Police Department, and Police Commissioner Michael Cox as defendants.

At the center of the dispute is the Boston Trust Act, passed in 2014, which restricts local law enforcement from complying with federal requests to detain civilian immigrants, except in cases involving public safety or serious crimes. The Department of Justice (DOJ) argues that the law violates the supremacy clause of the Constitution by obstructing federal authority on immigration matters.

In its 17-page complaint, the DOJ accused Boston of releasing non-citizens convicted of violent crimes, including murder, assault, drug trafficking and theft, rather than holding them for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“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,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “If Boston won’t protect its citizens from illegal alien crime, this Department of Justice will.”

Federal authorities noted that, until 2015, the Boston Justice Department routinely complied with ICE detention requests. Since then, they argue, the city has adopted “obstructionist” practices by refusing to cooperate.

The Justice Department has also warned Boston and other jurisdictions that they risk losing federal funding if they fail to comply with immigration enforcement.

Mayor Michelle Wu called the lawsuit unconstitutional. “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,” Wu said Thursday night. “We will not back down.”

Wu described Boston as the “economic and cultural hub of New England and the safest major city in the country,” and accused the administration of attacking her city for political gain.

The lawsuit against Boston is the latest chapter in the Trump administration’s broader conflict with Democratic-led cities and states over immigration enforcement.

The administration has relied on immigration policy as a central pillar of its public safety agenda, which links undocumented immigrants to violent crime without evidence. Its argument regarding sanctuary cities is that laws such as Boston’s Trust Act endanger the public. However, the purpose of these policies, which many cities and municipalities have, is to ensure that people in immigrant communities are not afraid to cooperate with the police or report crimes.

Wu and other leaders argue that undermining that trust would, on the contrary, make Boston and other sanctuary cities less safe. In Massachusetts’ largest city, the City Council reaffirmed the Trust Act in a December 2024 resolution, and the mayor has repeatedly said that Boston will “never back down” on this issue.

What other sanctuary cities have been sued?

Boston is not the first jurisdiction to be targeted by these lawsuits. The Department of Justice has filed similar lawsuits against Los Angeles (California), Chicago (Illinois), Denver (Colorado), New York City, and Rochester (New York), as well as several cities in New Jersey: Newark, Hoboken, Jersey City and Paterson. In each case, the administration has sought to overturn policies that limit local cooperation with ICE.

The lawsuits filed by the Trump administration against sanctuary cities have had mixed results: some cases have been dismissed by judges, while others are still ongoing.

One of the most significant outcomes has been the dismissal of the lawsuit against the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago. In that case, a federal judge dismissed the Trump administration’s lawsuit, ruling that Illinois’ sanctuary laws are protected by the Tenth Amendment. The judge stated that the federal government cannot compel states to enforce federal immigration laws. This ruling was a major setback for the administration’s legal strategy.

In addition to the lawsuits, the administration has threatened to withhold federal funds from sanctuary cities. However, a federal judge blocked the cutting of federal funds to dozens of sanctuary cities and counties, including Los Angeles and Chicago. The judge ruled that it was unconstitutional for the administration to freeze funds earmarked for local governments that limit their cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

Some cities, such as Louisville, Kentucky, have chosen to change their policies in response to government pressure, while others, such as New York City, have considered changes to their laws.

Other threats

The administration confirmed that it will launch large-scale immigration raids in Chicago and other sanctuary cities (such as New York, Portland, Baltimore, and Seattle) in what will be the most forceful action yet against jurisdictions that limit cooperation with ICE. According to senior officials at the Department of Homeland Security, the strategy will replicate the deployment carried out in Los Angeles in July, with tactical teams, armored vehicles, and long weapons, and plans to house hundreds of agents at the Great Lakes naval base, north of Chicago, for logistical support. The so-called “border czar,” Tom Homan, said there will be an “intensification” of raids in New York, Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, and especially Chicago, where local authorities, including Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, have rejected the lack of coordination and warned that these actions generate fear in immigrant communities.

California Governor Gavin Newsom pointed to high crime rates in several Republican-governed states, saying the administration selectively targets Democratic strongholds while ignoring similar or worse problems elsewhere.

What’s next for Boston?

The case now moves to federal court in Massachusetts, where the Justice Department will argue that Boston’s sanctuary law directly undermines the enforcement of immigration laws.

Wu has pledged to mobilize the city’s legal team and national allies to defend Boston’s policies, framing the lawsuit as part of a broader fight for local autonomy and immigrant rights.

“This unconstitutional attack on our city is not a surprise,” Wu said. “We will not yield”.