BOSTON — The city of Boston is facing a Tuesday deadline to respond to a letter from the federal government regarding sanctuary city policies.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu was one of 32 mayors and governors across the country to receive a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice citing they must submit a plan of compliance by August 19.
The letter from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi read, “You are hereby notified that your jurisdiction has been identified as one that engages in sanctuary policies and practices that thwart federal immigration enforcement to the detriment of the interests of the United States. This ends now. By Tuesday, August 19, 2025, please submit a response to this letter that confirms your commitment to complying with federal law and identifies the immediate initiatives you are taking to eliminate laws, policies, and practices that impede federal immigration enforcement. This letter does not constitute final agency action and nothing in this letter creates any right or benefit enforceable at law against the United States.”
Boston immigration attorney Desmond FitzGerald believes the steps set forth in this letter from the DOJ are “vague” and “unenforceable.” However, he said that doesn’t mean action won’t be taken if a plan of compliance isn’t submitted.
“The expectation is they will try to eliminate funds because the executive order said to the secretary of homeland security and the department of justice to identify funds that can be withheld if these entities like Boston don’t commit to compliance. Hypothetically, there could be funds withheld from the city that they were depending on for certain functions of the government,” FitzGerald explained.
Mayor Wu previously testified before congress regarding Boston’s sanctuary city policies, arguing that the policies limiting the federal governments involvement shouldn’t violate federal law but rather promote trust within the community. It’s an aspect that FitzGerald argues his clients depend on and if it were to be taken away, he believes there would be repercussions.
“I know from the calls my office receives from our clients, and our clients are here legally operating businesses, interacting with the city, in many different ways that they have to, that is going to have a chilling effect,” FitzGerald said. “Our schools are filled with people from other countries, our businesses are open by people from other countries, the innovations that we’ve been able to achieve here in the city are so often from the experience of people from other countries. They’re from immigrants. If we were to say that, we would not be the Boston that we have traditionally been.”
On Monday, Mayor Wu said the city is working on their response to this letter. The mayor will be sharing that letter with the community Tuesday morning.
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