Democratic Boston Mayor Michelle Wu on Sunday promised to protect illegal immigrants in her city from a pending mass deportation operation, which could include the use of military forces.
President-elect Donald Trump has made illegal immigration and border security one of the focal points of his presidential campaign, and promised to deport the millions of migrants who are living in the country illegally. Trump even teased on Monday that he could declare a national emergency and use the military to conduct the operation if necessary.
Wu told local news station WCVB on Sunday that she would protect residents who use city resources regardless of immigration status, because things like 911 and taking children to school have nothing to do with immigration.
"Elections have consequences, and the federal government is responsible for a certain set of actions, and cities, no individual city, can reverse or override some parts of that," she said. "What we can do is make sure that we are doing our part to protect our residents in every possible way, that we are not cooperating with those efforts that actually threaten the safety of everyone by causing widespread fear."
"The last thing we want is for people who are part of our economy, part of our school system, part of our community and the fabric of our city, to feel that all of a sudden they have to retreat into the shadows because of fear [of] reaching out to city services," Wu continued. "Whether it's calling 911 when you need it, or taking your child to school, those are all city services that have nothing to do with immigration enforcement, and we will continue to protect our residents within those spaces."
The mayor's comments come after Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, also a Democrat, vowed to use "every tool in the tool box" to protect state residents, and said state police would not cooperate with the operation, according to Fox News.
Tom Homan, who has been appointed as Trump's border czar, told Democratic sanctuary cities earlier this month that if they do not cooperate, then they needed to "get the hell out of the way."
"We’re going to do it. What it means is, rather than send 100 people to Boston, we’re going to send 200 agents to Boston. We're going to get the job done," he told Fox News.
