Boston Mayor Wu Effs Around, ICE Director Says She’s About to Find Out [WATCH]

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu openly rejected the Trump administration’s demands to end sanctuary city policies, setting up a direct confrontation with federal immigration authorities.

On Tuesday, Wu delivered her response to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who last week issued letters to several sanctuary city mayors warning of consequences if they refused to comply with federal immigration enforcement laws.

“The U.S. Attorney General asked for a response by today, so here it is,” Wu said at a public event.

“Stop attacking our cities to hide your administration’s failures. Unlike the Trump administration, Boston follows the law, and Boston will not back down from who we are and what we stand for.”

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Bondi’s letters outlined an ultimatum to sanctuary cities, demanding they comply with federal immigration law or risk losing access to federal funding and face other enforcement measures.

“You better be abiding by our federal policies and with our federal law enforcement, because if you aren’t, we’re going to come after you,” Bondi said during an interview with Fox News.

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In her speech, Wu invoked Boston’s historic role in the American Revolution, comparing her defiance of federal immigration law to the colonial fight for independence.

“We are gathered here today to show you who we are in Boston. More than 100 years before your home state was founded, Bostonians were across the street in Faneuil Hall, setting the foundation for our democracy and rule of law,” Wu said.

“One hundred years before that, Bostonians were founding the first public school and public park in the country,” she continued.

“This has always been a city of revolution, of innovation, of standing up for the public good and never bowing down to tyranny.”

Wu was joined by public officials, veterans, faith leaders, labor representatives, teachers, and community members as she delivered her remarks.

In response to Wu’s comments, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said the agency would increase operations in Boston.

Speaking on The Howie Carr Show on Wednesday, Lyons confirmed that federal immigration enforcement would be intensified in the city.

“We’re definitely going to flood the zone, especially in sanctuary jurisdictions,” Lyons said.

“Boston and Massachusetts decided to say that they wanted to stay sanctuary. Sanctuary does not mean safer streets. It means more criminal aliens out and about the neighborhood. But 100%, you will see a larger ICE presence.”

Lyons also stressed that many local law enforcement officers support cooperation with federal immigration authorities, even if city leadership does not.

“We have so many men and women on the Boston Police Department and other jurisdictions that are so pro-ICE, that want to work with us and that are actually helping us behind the scenes,” Lyons said.

“That’s what I think local leaders don’t understand, is they need to talk to the men and women on the ground, because … there are so many of these criminal aliens that keep getting released to go out and commit more crimes that the local law enforcement have to deal with. We can take that violent criminal alien instantly out of the neighborhood.”

The Trump administration has made sanctuary cities a central focus of its immigration enforcement strategy, threatening legal and financial consequences for jurisdictions that refuse to comply with federal law.

The standoff between Boston’s mayor and federal officials now places the city at the center of the national debate over sanctuary policies.