Trump administration continues to target Boston’s ‘sanctuary’ policies as Wu, local pols respond to Minn. ICE shooting

Local News

With local anger against ICE growing, the federal government is keeping up its attempt to invalidate local policies meant to protect immigrants.

As Massachusetts leaders registered their shock and anger over the killing of a woman by an ICE officer in Minnesota Wednesday, the Trump administration argued in court documents that Boston’s so-called “sanctuary” policy is “obstructionist” and “unlawfully discriminates” against the federal government. 

With the fallout of the Minnesota shooting reverberating around the country, anger directed at ICE officers in Massachusetts appears poised to escalate. A protest is planned for Thursday evening in downtown Boston, with organizers hoping to turn out thousands that want to “stop ICE terror.”

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu offered her condolences to the family of the victim and sharply criticized ICE in a statement responding to the Minnesota shooting. 

“Once again, we can see with our own eyes the cruel and vicious agenda of the Trump administration. To protect our residents, we must end the mass deployment of ICE agents into American cities and restore rule of law and basic accountability from the federal government,” Wu said. 

The Trump administration sued Wu, the City of Boston, Police Commissioner Michael Cox, and the Boston Police Department last September, arguing that the Boston Trust Act is illegal under federal law. The Trust Act, originally enacted in 2014 and amended in 2019, limits the ways in which the BPD can assist federal agencies in immigration enforcement. 

The city filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in November, and Attorney General Andrea Campbell later filed a legal brief in support of the city’s motion. The federal government responded Wednesday with a 28-page motion that asks a federal judge to deny the city’s motion to dismiss. 

The Trust Act directs the BPD to “categorically flout” immigration authorities so that immigrants can evade apprehension by ICE, the federal government argued in its latest filing. The local ordinance endangers federal agents and “obstructs and impairs the efficiency of the federal process in a way that is inconsistent with congressional design,” the recent filing states. 

Wu has made immigrant rights and opposition to ICE a core part of her political identity. She argues that the Trust Act improves public safety because it allows residents to report crimes without fear that doing so may put them at risk of detainment or deportation by ICE. 

Officials react to ICE shooting

As that legal battle plays out, many elected officials are joining Wu in ramping up their criticisms of ICE in the wake of the Minnesota shooting. Gov. Maura Healey accused the Trump administration of purposefully misrepresenting the violent incident in a statement Wednesday.

Video of the shooting taken by onlookers directly contradicts the Trump administration’s account of the shooting. 

Rep. Ayanna Pressley said the shooting amounted to “murder” and said it was “horrific.” She motioned to subpoena all records and footage related to the shooting and called for ICE to be fully dismantled. 

“ICE is a rogue, violent agency that moves with reckless disregard for human life and due process, and it has no business in our communities. It must be abolished and the agents involved must be held fully accountable,” Pressley said. 

Sen. Elizabeth Warren called on Congress and the courts to rein in ICE, saying that the agency should not be able to “act with impunity” after killing a woman.  

Sen. Ed Markey reposted a video of the shooting and implored residents not to look away from the violence

Rep. Seth Moulton responded on social media to Vice President JD Vance’s assertion that the woman’s death was a “tragedy of her own making.” Moulton accused Vance of lying and said that the videos of the shooting make this clear. 

“Blaming a murdered woman to shield federal officers is grotesque and disturbingly un-American. We will not ignore what we can see with our own eyes,” Moulton said. 

Rep. Jim McGovern said that a citizen was “murdered in cold blood by ICE agents” because they have been given the leeway to “act with impunity.” 

“This is a nightmare. This crime must immediately be investigated and prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” McGovern said. 

Senate President Karen Spilka echoed a similar sentiment. 

“The murder of Renee Nicole Good by ICE agents in Minnesota is more than a tragic injustice — it is the direct result of the Trump Administration’s dangerous, inhumane and anti-American policies. My heart is with Renee’s family and friends as they deal with the loss of their loved one,” Spilka said.