Far-left Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s refusal to end sanctuary city status will not deter Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons, who has promised to “flood” the city with agents to nab criminal illegal aliens.
“We’re definitely going to, as you’ve heard the saying, flood the zone, especially in sanctuary jurisdictions,” Lyons told Boston-based The Howie Carr Show on Wednesday.
“Boston and Massachusetts decided to say that they wanted to stay sanctuary,” Lyons told the conservative talker. “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.”
The comments come after Democrat Mayor Wu at a press conference — that kicked off with a mariachi band — rejected Attorney General Pam Bondi’s deadline to end its sanctuary city law by Tuesday or risk cuts to federal funding.
“Stop attacking our cities to hide your administration’s failures,” the mayor said following the band’s eyebrow-raising performance. “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.”
The city enacted the Boston Trust Act in 2014, “which bars local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement agents, particularly around arresting migrants in the country illegally who are on civil warrants,” the Hill explained.
WATCH — Boston Mayor Holds News Conference on DOJ Immigration Enforcement Letter:
As Breitbart News reported, Attorney General Pam Bondi sent out letters to 32 state and local governments considered “sanctuary jurisdictions,” indicating they could lose funding or face legal action if they do not cooperate with the administration’s immigration crackdown.
Lyons criticized the Boston mayor’s defiance on Carr’s show, arguing sanctuary status only made the city more dangerous because local police can ignore ICE detainers and criminal migrants are released back into the community to commit more crimes.
WATCH — “I’m Bringing Hell with Me”: Homan to Anti-ICE Boston Police Commissioner:
“We did Operation Patriot March, which yielded over 1,000 arrests, and now you’re going to see more ICE agents come to Boston to make sure that we take these public threats out that she wants to let go back in the communities,” Lyons said. “We’re going to keep making America safe.”
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
