Donald Trump’s incoming border czar has issued a stern warning to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu ahead of the newly elected president’s mass deportation plans.
Tom Homan, 62, said he hopes Wu, 39, does not “step over the line” when it comes to his and Trump’s plans to deport millions of migrants once he takes office in January.
Wu vowed to continue protecting migrants in her sanctuary city in “any way possible,” she said WCVB is aware on Sunday.
“She’s not very smart, I’ll give her that,” said Homan, a former police officer Newsmax.
“President Trump will prioritize threats to public safety. What mayor or governor doesn’t want public safety threats to disappear from their community?”
On Tuesday, Wu ignored Homan’s comments and told the newspaper Boston Herald: “They can say whatever they want about me, but our public safety record speaks for itself: Boston is the safest big city in America.
“Our homicide rates are among the lowest of any city nationwide, and gun violence here in Boston has reached historic lows over the past two years.”
She said the city’s lower crime rates are “no coincidence” and are a “reflection of the trust between our residents and our public safety officials.”
Tom Homan, 62, said he hopes Wu, 39, does not “step over the line” when it comes to his and Trump’s plans to deport millions of migrants once he takes office in January. “She’s not very smart, I’ll give her that,” Homan said
Wu vowed to continue protecting migrants in her sanctuary city in “any way possible.”
“We will continue to focus on that work and have no plans to roll out the welcome mat to them,” she said.
However, Homan reminded the liberal mayor that under Title 8 of the United States Code 1324 III, concealing illegal aliens from law enforcement is a federal crime.
“They can’t work together, but there are certain laws they can’t cross and I hope she doesn’t break them,” he told Newsmax.
“That’s our first responsibility: to protect their communities and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”
Boston has been a haven since 2014. Under the Trust Act, there is no requirement to cooperate with some federal immigration laws.
The Trust Act allows some city agencies, such as police, to opt out of cooperating with ICE on arrests made on civil warrants. In criminal cases, however, the city should help.
“What we can do is ensure that we do our part to protect our residents in every way possible,” Wu said on Sunday.
“(Make sure) we do not participate in those efforts that actually endanger the safety of everyone by causing widespread fear and having large-scale economic impacts.”
Boston has been a haven since 2014. Under the Trust Act, there is no requirement to cooperate with certain federal immigration laws (photo: Haitian migrants in Boston in May)
The Trust Act allows some city agencies, such as police, to opt out of cooperating with ICE for arrests on civil warrants (Photo: Migrants at Boston’s Logan Airport)
Wu said she refuses to allow her city’s migrants to “retreat into the shadows” as Trump begins his second term.
“Reaching city services, whether it’s calling 911 when you need it or taking your child to school — those are all city services that have nothing to do with immigration enforcement,” she said of migrants.
“And we will continue to protect our residents within those spaces.”
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has also pledged that state police will not be used to aid Trump’s deportation efforts. The Massachusetts State Police said these efforts would conflict with their mission, the Herald reported.
Cambridge – home to Harvard University – Concord, Lawrence and Newton are also sanctuary cities.
Despite the two liberal politicians’ resistance to Trump’s deportation plans, Homan turned his attention to the Laken Riley case, in which a 22-year-old illegal immigrant has been charged with murder.
“I want you to listen to that tape of that young lady fighting for her life, fighting for her breath,” Homan said.
‘She didn’t want to die, she fought hard. Listen to it. Don’t just say, “Okay, another one died.” I want you to listen to the struggle because it is happening almost every day across the country by an illegal alien.”
Trump — who partially built a border wall during his first term — has indicated he plans to declare a national emergency and use military force to deport illegal migrants from the US once he takes office. An estimated 11 million could be affected
Twenty-nine illegal migrants have been arrested for murder or manslaughter so far in the 2024 financial year, which ended on September 30. US Customs and Border Patrol.
Trump — who partially built a border wall during his first term — has indicated he plans to declare a national emergency and use military force to deport illegal migrants from the US once he takes office.
In response to a post on Truth Social from activist Tom Fitton, who said the “incoming Trump administration (is) prepared to declare a national emergency and use military means to reverse the Biden invasion through a massive deportation program,” Trump wrote, “WHERE!!!”
Trump has long promised not only to curb illegal immigration, but also to deport those currently living in the US illegally.
He said just days after winning the 2024 election that his fight to deport an estimated 11 million people would not have a “price tag.”
“Really, we don’t have a choice,” he told NBC.
“When people have killed and murdered, when drug lords have destroyed countries, and now they’re going back to those countries because they won’t stay here. There’s no price tag on it.’
The American Immigration Council estimated that the cost of a mass deportation on the scale Trump wants could cost $315 billion.
The costs include the consequences of lost labor.