'Boston Will Never Back Down': Mayor Michelle Wu Comes Out Swinging Against Pam Bondi Threat

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu on Tuesday came out swinging against US Attorney General Pam Bondi amid the Justice Department's threats to prosecute local officials for not helping the administration carry out its mass deportation program.

In a letter sent to Bondi, Wu defended Boston's right to not participate in federal deportation operations, and she cited court rulings in favor of the city's Boston Trust Act, which she noted has been upheld by courts as "valid exercises of local authority and fully consistent with federal law."

Wu took a hammer to the administration's attacks on American cities and its actions that she said have hurt Boston's economy.

"This federal administration's false and continuous attacks on American cities and millions of our residents are unprecedented," she wrote. "You have eliminated healthcare and food assistance for our families; unlawfully cancelled grants for our schools and roads; slashed funding for our universities, hospitals, and research institutions; and deployed military personnel to occupy our streets. These attacks all come back to a common aim: The Trump administration seeks to divide, isolate, and intimidate our cities, and make Americans fearful of one another."

Wu then linked the Trump administration's current actions to those of the British crown before the American Revolution, which she described as "the attempted coercion of Boston by an unaccountable and distant monarch."

However, Wu also emphasized that the Boston Police Department has cooperated with federal law enforcement officials where appropriate, and she cited the department last week arresting "thirteen people as the result of a joint human trafficking investigation with the FBI and Massachusetts State Police" as an example.

Wu closed her letter with a note of defiance against attempts by the Trump administration to take control of cities across the United States.

"On behalf of the people of Boston, and in solidarity with the cities and communities targeted by this federal administration for our refusal to bow down to unconstitutional threats and unlawful coercion, we affirm our support for each other and for our democracy," she wrote. "Boston will never back down from being a beacon of freedom, and a home for everyone."

Wu's letter comes at a time when Trump and several Republican governors have deployed National Guard forces to Washington, DC for the purported goal of reducing crime in the nation's capital. Trump has also threatened to deploy the National Guard to other cities, including Boston, New York, Chicago, Oakland, and Baltimore.