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'Boston Will Never Back Down': Mayor Michelle Wu Comes Out Swinging Against Pam Bondi Threat
"The Trump administration seeks to divide, isolate, and intimidate our cities, and make Americans fearful of one another," wrote Wu.
Aug 19, 2025
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.
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At Sanctuary City Hearing, Boston Mayor Rebukes GOP's 'False Narrative' About Immigrants
"If you wanted to make us safe, pass gun reforms. Stop cutting Medicaid," said Mayor Michelle Wu. "Stop cutting funds for veterans."
Mar 05, 2025
At an all-day hearing on sanctuary cities held by the U.S. House Oversight Committee, Republican lawmakers were intent on vilifying the Democratic mayors of Chicago, Boston, and other cities and accusing them of allowing undocumented immigrants to run rampant by refusing to authorize local police forces to work with the federal government on immigration enforcement.
But the narrative of dangerous immigrants and crime-ridden Democratic-led cities did not sit well with the local leaders who voluntarily testified before the committee, and Democratic Boston Mayor Michelle Wu appeared to welcome the opportunity to set the record straight regarding immigration reform and the broader GOP agenda.
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) accused Wu of acting unconstitutionally by setting immigration statutes in Boston that differ from federal policies under the Trump administration, which has launched a nationwide deportation operation led by border czar Thomas Homan and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
As a sanctuary city, Boston does not fully cooperate with ICE to arrest undocumented immigrants, but Wu noted in the hearing that under a local law called the Trust Act, authorities work with the agency "every single day on criminal matters and hold people who are committing crimes accountable."
When Gosar demanded to know whether Wu defers to local, state, or federal laws when there is a distinction in immigration-related policies, the mayor pointed out that local leaders are not required to follow federal law "in conflict with local laws or state laws."
"The federal government has jurisdiction and supremacy over all immigration laws," replied Gosar. "We're the ones that define that. We just heard, 'We want comprehensive immigration policy.' How can you get a comprehensive immigration policy when you're defying it from the get-go?"
Wu answered that Congress could pass "bipartisan legislation, and that would be comprehensive immigration law."
"The false narrative is that immigrants in general are criminals or immigrants in general cause all sorts of danger and harm. That is actually what is undermining safety in our communities," she said, adding that Republicans could end their efforts to cut Medicaid and health research, and pass broadly popular gun control legislation.
"That is what would make our city safe," said Wu.
Wu further suggested she won't be pressured into changing her city's immigration policies to match President Donald Trump's when she said Boston has not historically been governed by "the word of presidents, or kings, or presidents who think they are kings."
The mayor fiercely defended her record as the city's leader and spoke out against characterizations of Boston and other large cities as crime-ridden, noting that officials recorded the lowest number of homicides in Boston last year since at least 1957.
She called on Homan to testify on Capitol Hill after Ranking Member Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) pointed to the border czar's comments from last month about Boston. Without citing specifics, Homan accused Massachusetts authorities of allowing "multiple" violent criminals who were unauthorized to be in the U.S. to walk free from jails.
"Shame on him for lying about my city, for having the nerve to insult our police commissioner who has overseen the safest Boston has been in anyone's lifetime," said Wu.
In Boston, city councilors and advocacy groups led local residents in a rally supporting Wu and the city's immigrant community. Attendees held signs that read, "Stay the hell out of Boston, Homan" and chanted, "Say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here!"
From Washington, Wu sent home a message via social media: "To every one of my neighbors back in Boston, know this: You belong here. This is your home. Boston es tu hogar. Boston se lakay ou... This is our city. We are the safest major city in the nation because we are safe for everyone."
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'We Are All Culpable': Matt Nelson Self-Immolates to Protest Israel's Gaza Onslaught
In a video, Nelson said he would set himself ablaze "to stop supplying Israel with the money and weapons it uses to imprison and murder innocent Palestinians" and "to pressure Israel to end the genocide in Gaza."
Sep 13, 2024
For the third time since Israel launched a war on Gaza for which it is currently on trial for genocide at the World Court, a person in the United States has set themself on fire to protest Israel's killing of more than 41,000 Palestinians and U.S. complicity in the slaughter.
In an incident all but completely ignored by the U.S. corporate media, a man identified as Matt Nelson set himself alight near the Israeli Consulate in Boston at around 8:15 pm local time on Wednesday, September 11.
"My name is Matt Nelson and I'm about to engage in an extreme act of protest," he said in a video first uploaded to YouTube on Wednesday. "We are all culpable in the ongoing genocide in Gaza."
"We are slaves to capitalism and the military-industrial complex. Most of us are too apathetic to care," Nelson continued. "The protest I'm about to engage in is a call to our government to stop supplying Israel with the money and weapons it uses to imprison and murder innocent Palestinians, to pressure Israel to end the genocide in Gaza, and to support the [International Criminal Court] indictment of [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu and other members of the Israeli government."
"A democracy is supposed to serve the will of the people, not the interests of the wealthy," he added. "Take the power back. Free Palestine."
According to NBC Boston, first responders confirmed a man suffered serious burn injuries. Nelson's current condition has not been reported.
NBC Boston and other local media took flak from critics on social media, who noted that the outlets chose to report the incident's location as "outside the Four Seasons Hotel" instead of by the Israeli Consulate.
Nelson is the third person known to have self-immolated in Gaza-related protests in the United States since October.
On December 1, a woman—whose identity remains unknown—carrying a Palestinian flag was hospitalized in critical condition after setting herself alight outside the Israeli consulate in Atlanta. Police called it an "act of extreme political protest." Israeli Consul-General Anat Sultan-Dadon called it an act of "hate and incitement toward Israel."
Then, in an incident that gained worldwide attention, Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old active-duty U.S. airman, doused himself in an unknown accelerant, donned his service cap, and set himself ablaze in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. on February 25.
Bushnell repeatedly screamed "Free Palestine" as he burned. Secret Service officers quickly rushed to the scene, with at least one of them drawing his pistol and pointing it at the burning man while ordering him to "get on the ground, you fucker."
As he screamed and writhed in agony, Bushnell managed one final, garbled, yet unmistakable "free Palestine" as his body was engulfed in flames. He died later that day.
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