The Boston City Council voted unanimously this week to double down on a measure aimed at thwarting President-elect Trump’s plans mass deportations.
According to the Boston Herald, Boston Councilwoman Gabriela Coletta said the measure is an important step “as we brace for (the) impact” of a Trump’s second presidency.
The law, called the Trust Act, was first passed in 2014 and was amended during Trump’s first term in 2019.
It aims to protect immigrant communities from “unjust enforcement actions” and limits the Boston Police Department’s ability to cooperate with ICE and prohibits police from holding migrants in custody for possible deportation unless there is a criminal warrant.
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Flags fly over Boston City Hall on November 11, 2021. (Lane Turner/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
The resolution adopted by the council states that “mass deportation proposals constitute a direct attack on Boston’s immigrant families and threaten to tear communities apart.”
“In light of changing federal leadership, the City of Boston must reaffirm our support for the Boston Trust Act to protect our immigrant residents,” the resolution continues. “The City of Boston will continue to monitor and respond to federal immigration policies that may impact its residents, and reaffirms its commitment to protect immigrant communities from unjust enforcement actions and to uphold the Trust Act, recognizing that protecting the rights and dignity of all residents, regardless of immigration status, is essential to a safe and welcoming city for all.”
According to the Boston Globe, all thirteen council members voted to reaffirm the Trust Act on Wednesday.
According to the Boston Globe, Council President Ruthzee Louijeune said that “as the national climate becomes increasingly hostile toward immigrant communities, we must reaffirm who we are as a city.”
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Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston arrested an unlawfully present 28-year-old Salvadoran national, Bryan Daniel Aldana-Arevalo, and charged him with numerous sex crimes against a child on Nantucket Island. (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
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“As a city built on the strength of its diverse communities,” she continued, “Boston remains steadfast in its commitment to protect the rights (and) dignity of all its residents, regardless of status.”
Boston Mayor Michelle Wua Democrat, has also vowed that the city will not cooperate with Trump and his new border czar Tom Homan’s plans for mass deportations.
“The federal government is responsible for a certain set of actions, and cities, and no city, can undo or set aside some parts of that,” Wu said during a local news interview. “But what we can do is ensure that we do our part to protect our residents in every way possible, that we do not participate in those efforts that actually threaten the safety of everyone by causing widespread fear and large-scale economic impacts to have. .”
This comes after the Boston area saw several ICE arrests of illegal immigrants accused of crimes, including child abuse, released back onto the streets.
ICE announced in November that it had apprehended a Colombian illegal immigrant arrested on charges of enticing a child under 16, distributing obscene matter and lasciviously posing and exhibiting a child in the nude. ICE filed a detainer against him, but it was ignored, according to the agency.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey visit the Melnea A. Cass Recreational Complex, which was used to house more than 300 migrants. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
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Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has similarly said she is willing to use “every tool in the toolbox” to protect residents, vowing that state police would “absolutely not” assist Trump in the mass deportation operation.
Several other Democratic leaders have also pledged opposition to Trump’s deportation plans, including California Governor Gavin Newsom and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston.
Johnston fell out with Homan after he promised that Denver police would physically block ICE officials from carrying out deportations and predicted a “Tiananmen Square moment.”
In response to this Homan has warned opponents to “get out of the way” and warned that he is “not afraid” to jail those who illegally obstruct ICE enforcement.
