Wu is asked to testify before Congress about Boston’s ‘sanctuary’ status

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has been asked to testify before Congress about Boston’s “sanctuary policies.”

Wu discussed the issue Monday during her regular interview on Boston Public Radio just two weeks after giving birth to her third child.

She said much of the “bluster” threatening Boston to comply with federal immigration agents is “trying to create drama and fear and sort of perception of fulfilling pretty draconian campaign promises.”

“In reality, our job at the city level, especially, but I would say, in government in general, is to understand the law, is to follow the law, and to know to go by facts, rather than just sort of made up stuff,” she said before referencing Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship, which was quickly blocked by a federal judge.

Wu touted Boston’s top safety record and implied that, while more showy with a Fox News crew, Immigration Customs Enforcement agents have been targeting individuals with “serious criminal allegations or backgrounds or prior history of deportation,” similarly to the Biden administration.

Wu said there’s been no reports of ICE going into schools or churches, but they don’t interact with Boston police, per the Boston Trust Act, so “we don’t have a lot of information on that front.”

“The federal government will continue to do what they do on the federal side,” Wu said. “We will continue to do what we do on the city side, which is keeping everyone safe here, and we don’t have the authority to, let’s say, stop or or overrule what they’re doing in their domain, but neither do they in our domain, either.”

Wu asked to testify on Boston’s ‘sanctuary’ jurisdiction

Chair James Comer of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform sent letters to four mayors of “major cities that are sanctuary jurisdictions” and called on them to testify in front of the Committee on Feb. 11.

Wu, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston were requested to testify.

“These jurisdictions take it upon themselves to decide what laws they will and will not abide by all for the purpose of shielding removable aliens, especially criminals, from federal law enforcement,” Comer wrote to Wu. “Citizens of all four cities have suffered due to sanctuary policies.”

The letter said Trump is looking to restrict federal funds “from so-called ‘sanctuary’ jurisdictions, which seek to interfere with the lawful exercise of Federal law enforcement operations.”

According to the letter to Wu, the Committee is asking for all documents and communications between city officials, state officials, federal officials, and non-governmental organizations regarding the city’s sanctuary status.

“We are proud that Boston is the safest major city in the United States. We have received the letter and are reviewing it,” Wu’s office said in a statement.

Molly Farrar is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on education, politics, crime, and more.