The border czar makes the city of Boston the most recent Immigration target

BOSTON – While Mayor Michelle Wu is preparing to go to the Congress to defend the Boston protection of immigrant communities, the city is in a war with words with The Trump administration and Republican representatives on how much police should support deportations.

Tom Homan, the border tsar of President Donald Trump, Tom Homan, against the Boston Police Commissioner, in a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, saying that there are at least nine “children’s rapists” in prison, which local authorities will not teach immigration to the US. He promised that he would come to Boston and “bring hell with him.”

ICE public affairs did not respond to an information request about these cases, and Homan did not develop any travel plan.

Boston is not alone: ​​ICE accused the state and local authorities from all over the country of not being able to cooperate for people to be accused of violent offenses.

At Wednesday’s meeting in front of the Chamber’s Supervisory Committee and the Government Reform, Wu will be joined by the first in Chicago, New York and Denver, all trapped what it means to be a “sanctuary city”.

A clash between federal, state and local laws

ICE is empowered to apply immigration laws at national level, but needs help from local and state authorities to make large -scale deportations. He asks the police and sheriffs to warn them about certain people he wants to deport and hold up to 48 hours, so that immigration officers have time to reach and take custody.

Sanctuary cities limit such cooperation when involving accused persons, but still convicted for crimes, following state or local laws who prohibit people to ice just because they do not have legal permission to be in the country.

“If someone has committed a serious crime, our position is that we want to answer them,” said Suffolk district prosecutor, Kevin Hayden. “What you want to do with their consequences of immigration or their deportation, if necessary, after we respond, this depends on the federal government. That’s on the ice. “

The handling of the defendants would make it harder to obtain cooperation from the immigrants when investigating the crimes and fails to offer justice for the victims, Hayden said.

Will the deportation of the defendants and witnesses make more secure cities?

“We do not want the fear of people to make an immigration consequences of a deportation have a creepy effect on our ability to respond to people,” Hayden said. “Even on this modern day, where we have telephones, rooms and records and everything, we still need victims and witnesses and people who will come and testify and tell their story to demonstrate a case.”

Boston police commissioner Michael Cox told WCVB-TV that the police do not have the authority to apply federal immigration laws or to teach people just because they are in the country illegal-immigration state is not “relevant to public safety,” he said.

The Boston Trust law, updated in 2018, allows the police to cooperate with ICE on “significant public safety, such as human trafficking, children’s exploitation, drug trafficking and weapons and computer crimes, approaching at the same time from applying civil immigration”.

Also, the city must follow a decision of 2017 by the highest court of the state, which prohibits the authorities in Massachusetts to hold a person who has the right to free themselves from custody based exclusively on a federal demand.

How did leaders respond to pressure?

Wu, a democrat for the re -election this year, said he is “unbelieving” and “insult” for Homan to attack the Commissioner and that he wants Boston to be a welcoming place for immigrants. The governor of Massachusetts, Maura Healey, called Homan’s comments “unproductive” and “not how you hire as a member of law enforcement.”

Hayden said he would meet a “civil conversation” about immigration, but “if you want to bring hell with you, don’t bother to come. Hell is not welcome here in Boston. “

The leaders of faith met with the mayor and said that the members of their congregations are now afraid to go to a food room or respond to their door to receive donations.

“Fear is not just for those who are not documented and this is one of the realities we hope that Washington will hear,” said Arlene Hall reporters, originally from Jamaica and minister at the Temple Center in Dorchester. “Fear is much deeper and wider because of what is done.”

The primary opponent of the WU, Democrat Josh Kraft, said in a statement that he claims “eliminating violent offenders”, but opposes mass deportations and “Homan’s inflammatory rhetoric about a city he does not know.”

What could happen to cities that don’t comply?

An unpleasant video of the Committee led by Republican presents Wu and several other mayors of the city as criminals, with the representative of Kentucky, James Commer, saying: “If they continue to do the law, then I think we should reduce as much of their federal financing, which we can reduce.”

The Trump administration began to take legal measures, By accusing Illinois, Chicago and Cook County of violating federal law by not cooperating. MPs In more than 20 states they follow the legislation Against the so-called sanctuary cities, Associated Press found using Software to track down plural bills.

And some of these communities return: the suburbs in Boston in Chelsea and Somerville have submitted action by accusing the Trump administration of violating their constitutional rights.