Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Yusufi Vali, the new director of the Mayor's Office for Immigrant Advancement, told Boston Public Radio on Friday the city's immigrants should feel safe, despite the Trump administration's announcement that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents would round up undocumented immigrants across the nation.
President Donald Trump said raids would begin Sunday in various major cities. In Boston, Vali said it appeared to be "business as usual" for ICE.
"Our office was on a call with 80 different cities about whether there were real raids," said Vali, who was appointed by the mayor last month.
"What we learned across the board, it was basically business as usual for ICE, but that doesn't mean they didn't show up," he added. "What the president is trying to do here is sow fear in the hearts and minds of people."
The Center for Immigration Studies identifies Massachusetts as a sanctuary state, and Boston is included as a sanctuary city. Despite that status, the city has received some criticism for not going far enough in limiting federal agents' access to residents.
In June, the city filed amendments to the Trust Act in an attempt to allay concerns over Boston Police cooperation with ICE. The idea behind it is to clarify the role local law enforcement plays within federal immigration laws. In Boston, local authorities are not to arrest someone solely based on their immigration status or detainer requests, unless otherwise ordered by a court, according to the mayor’s office.
Walsh told Boston Public Radio he stands by the city's protections.
"There has to be a relationship between the federal government and the Boston police department on making sure we keep our people safe. Let's not confuse the two issues, let's separate them," he said. "Commissioner Gross has instructed the police department ... we are not federal agents, and we will not be going out there and pulling somebody over because we think they look like they don't belong here and they potentially could be undocumented. That's not our job."
The cities and towns of Amherst, Boston, Cambridge, Concord, Lawrence, Newton, Northampton and Somerville are all identified as “sanctuaries” by immigration officials, according to CIS data.
Vali said the city's decision to amend the Trust Act ahead of the alleged raids mean Boston officials take protecting the immigrant community seriously, amid ever-changing policy nationwide.
"This administration, meaning our national government, every day is saying something, rolling something out, it is so chaotically done, that even the president's own agencies don't know how to make sense of it. Here at Boston we've completely recognized it's not business as usual, we have to continually adapt, that's what's happening with the Trust Act ... making sure we're adapting to this," he said. "We're going to continue to do that, fill in the gaps where we can."
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh joins Boston Public Radio every month for "Ask The Mayor."
