In the aftermath of heavy federal immigration enforcement nationwide, Mayor Michelle Wu signed an executive order Thursday to protect against unconstitutional and violent federal enforcement.
The order asserts that local police are obligated to protect residents, and says the city refuses to assist federal commandeering of local resources.
“We will not allow the birthplace of American democracy to be knocked off our path by those who have turned their backs on our founding principles,” Mayor Wu said during a press conference on Thursday at City Hall.
“An Executive Order To Protect Bostonians From Unconstitutional and Violent Federal Operations” also bans federal officials from using property owned by the city — including buildings, parks and parking lots — for their operations without a valid court order. On Wednesday, Worcester announced a similar order.
The order states that federal immigration officials are to be denied access to nonpublic areas of municipal buildings — including schools, libraries and community centers — without a judicial warrant.
Wu said the announcement today was in the “spirit of every Bostonian who refused to back down.”
“From the parents who led the school desegregation movement, to the immigrant activists who work every day to make Boston a home for everyone. We are standing tall, and we are standing together,” she said.
The order also states that residents may call emergency services to respond to a warrantless entry into a private dwelling. The order says first responders should provide immediate medical attention to anyone injured during a federal operation.
Wu said this is a direct response to surges of federal enforcement in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Portland and Lewiston, Maine.
“In these deployments,” the executive order reads, “federal agents have fomented chaos, violated residents’ constitutional rights and perpetrated egregious acts of violence, including the fatal shootings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti.”
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement called Wu’s order “legally illiterate,” echoing the language used in the response by DHS to Worcester’s executive order earlier in the week. McLaughlin also said Wu’s “claims of criminal misconduct by ICE law enforcement are FALSE” and that “ICE is held to the highest professional standard and officers regularly receive ongoing training.”
The killings of Good and Pretti have sparked outrage and protests both nationally and locally.
There have been similar initiatives at the state level to curb federal enforcement. Gov. Maura Healey issued an executive order and proposed legislation that would prevent ICE from conducting operations in places of worship, courthouses, schools, childcare facilities and hospitals. Healey’s introduced legislation also prevents ICE from making civil arrests in nonpublic areas of state-owned properties.
Other municipal and state leaders, community organizations and advocates joined Wu during the event, who also spoke in solidarity to defend their communities’ values and the rule of law.
Fidel Maltez, city manager of Chelsea, said the unconstitutional immigration enforcement that has “ravaged” Chelsea over the past year has no place in the city.
“As a city of immigrants, a community that is built by immigrants and that is made strong by immigrants, we will not allow our city to be used as a base for armed enforcement actions that target our neighbors through racial profiling and executive force,” Maltez said. “We will defend every resident’s constitutional right to live free from fear. That is our commitment. That is our promise.”
Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts, said it was heartening to see the collective solidarity of elected officials and leaders throughout the state on this order, demonstrating a “shared resolve to hold ICE to account.”
“We urge municipalities across Massachusetts to move quickly to implement protections like Boston’s, sending a unified message that ICE cannot act with impunity in this Commonwealth,” Rose said in a written statement. “We also call on state lawmakers to build upon the important immigration bills filed by Gov. Healey and the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus to enact strong, comprehensive law to keep all Massachusetts communities safe and free.”
