Mayor Michelle Wu mentioned Tuesday that ICE hasn’t contacted Boston police, and native officers will not play a job in any mass deportations that may happen.
Throughout an look on GBH Information’ “Boston Public Radio” program, Wu was requested about whether or not she expects any repercussions after she chided “border czar” Tom Homan throughout her testimony earlier than Congress final week. Homan in current months has made some extent to focus on Wu, at one level pledging he can be “bringing hell” to Boston as he sought to crack down on undocumented immigration.
“No, ICE usually has not been involved with Boston police to offer discover,” Wu mentioned Tuesday. “So far as we are able to inform, they’re actually nonetheless functionally sticking to the ways used below the Biden administration.”
The mayor additionally mentioned “it is a false assertion,” that Boston isn’t cooperating with ICE on prison points.
“We do this with any federal company, any state company at any time when there’s a prison warrant,” she mentioned. “When it comes to mass deportation, our officers won’t play a job in that, and now we have not gotten any advance discover from the Trump administration about what they’ll do.”
Tom Homan, the White Home border czar, criticized Boston and its police commissioner in remarks at CPAC Saturday.
In her first look on GBH since final week’s testimony, Wu obtained a standing ovation as she entered the Boston Public Library, which co-host Jim Braude mentioned was the primary within the present’s historical past. She introduced her new child child, Mira, together with her, and even fed her whereas conducting the interview.
Braude and co-host Margery Eagan additionally requested Wu about her expertise in Washington, D.C., final week.
“It was an extended day, I am going to say that,” she mentioned. “It had simply been overestimated a lot beforehand, proper? There was a film trailer for a congressional listening to, and plenty of continued threats and concentrating on of Boston and our police commissioner and varied issues that we consider are actually essential to together with everybody in our neighborhood.”
“So I used to be proud to go down there and lift my proper hand, swear to inform the reality after which speak about Boston as the perfect metropolis on the planet. We are the most secure main metropolis, now we have a lot occurring, and it is as a result of we’re a neighborhood that features everybody.”
Braude and Eagan additionally requested if Wu is frightened about retribution by congressional Republicans or the Trump administration in response to her testimony.
“I imply, that is extraordinarily critical, and as a lot as it might seem to be a kind of present or manufacturing whenever you’re watching it, these are… Congress has energy, and poeople who’re within the federal authorities have actual energy to enact penalties on federal funding, to comply with by way of on among the threats across the prosecution of particular person individuals or referral to the Division of Justice, so we’re going to proceed to supply the knowledge that committee was looking for…”
“It does really feel like a lot of that is designed to silence individuals, to say ‘Should you simply hold your mouth shut or quietly change your insurance policies, should you do what we would like and fulfill our political whims proper now, possibly you will have an opportunity of surviving higher.’ That is not an alternate that is acceptable to our neighborhood members and the way we are able to stay for the subsequent 4 years. We comply with legal guidelines and we inform the reality. We have now to inform the reality. On the finish of the day, I nonetheless consider that issues and that is what’s essential in representing our communities.”
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu pushed again in opposition to Republican lawmakers throughout a listening to on sanctuary cities whereas Bostonians on either side of the argument sounded off at Metropolis Corridor Plaza.
Wu was additionally requested in regards to the $650,000 town spent on outdoors legal professionals to assist her put together for the listening to and supply requested info and paperwork to Congress.
“It’s cash that I very, very a lot want we didn’t must spend in any respect, and time from my employees and my crew that might have gone to significantly better, far more essential issues,” she mentioned. “However the stakes are excessive… When there’s threats to place me in jail, to remove funidng, I wanted to verify I used to be doing every little thing potential to symbolize our metropolis effectively, to symbolize our insurance policies with full accuracy. Having authorized represetnation was essential for that.”
The mayor additionally spoke in regards to the problem of collaborating in a full day of testimony whereas additionally attempting to look after and feed a new child child, and about how she was capable of make it to Ash Wednesday providers earlier than the listening to.
“It was a full, heavy day,” she mentioned. “I’ve gotten ashes each Ash Wednesday, normally at Metropolis Corridor the place we invite a neighborhood priest to return and supply that for anybody in Metropolis Corridor who’s . I am very grateful the archdiocese linked us to a church proper by the lodge and we have been capable of go there early earlier than the listening to. I had my typical connection to religion and this second interested by our place on the planet. We’re simply small, humble human beings who will ultimately return to ashes and dirt. Perhaps that is why I felt so calm as effectively heading into this. There are extra essential issues — understanding our humanity, connection to one another, doing proper and being good individuals on the planet, taking good care of others and being a part of the neighborhood.”
Wu mentioned she had spoken to the committee forward of time to allow them to know she would wish to take breaks each 90 minutes to 2 hours in the course of the listening to to feed Mira, which she did on quite a few events. She additionally known as her husband Conor Pewarski the “hero of the day,” for strolling throughout the Capitol with their daughter in between these feedings.
