After conducting mass deportation operations in Chicago, the Trump administration's border czar, Tom Homan, is setting his sights on Boston, and he's "bringing hell" with him.
In a speech Saturday at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Homan announced that Boston is his next stop as he cracks down on illegal immigration across America, especially running rampant in Democrat-led "sanctuary cities."
🚨 Tom Homan just sent a STRONG warning to Boston authorities who are refusing to work with ICE
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) February 22, 2025
“I'm coming to Boston, and I'm bringing HELL with me.”
🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/oPEBoqodPc
Boston, a so-called "sanctuary city," openly defies U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers, which are instructions telling local law enforcement to hold criminally charged illegal aliens behind bars until ICE can assume custody without having to hunt them down. Under the Boston Trust Act, police there are prohibited from working with ICE officers in certain scenarios, such as detaining illegal immigrants on civil warrants.
Homan said such "sanctuary cities" shield violent criminals from the threat of deportation. "Sanctuary cities, you are a sanctuary for criminals," Homan declared.
Homan also issued a stern warning to Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox, who recently reaffirmed that the Boston Police Department (BPD) will continue to uphold the local ordinance limiting inter-agency cooperation. "We just don't do that," Cox said on a segment of WCVB's "On the Record" show. "We don't enforce civil detainers regarding federal immigration law. It's defined here in the state, and that's just how it works."
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"I read a story last night that the police commissioner of Boston, you said you'd double down on not helping law enforcement officers of ICE. I'm coming to Boston, and I'm bringing hell with me," Homan told the CPAC audience to much applause.
Homan cited cases of criminals, specifically child sex offenders, being let out of jail in the Bay State despite ICE flagging them as deportable.
"I looked at the numbers this morning," Homan said. "I stopped counting at nine—nine child rapists that were in jail in Massachusetts, but rather than honoring an ICE detainer, [local authorities] released them back into the street."
Homan took aim at Cox siding with the city's "sanctuary" policies, telling him, "You're not a police commissioner. Take that badge off your chest. Put it in the desk drawer because you became a politician. You forgot what it's like to be a cop."
In spite of BPD's defiance, Homan noted, ICE agents were still able to track down and arrest the at-large illegal aliens.
"And guess what? The men and women of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, they found those predators, and they're locked back up, and we are going to deport them from the United States," added Homan.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, a Democrat and staunch supporter of the city's "sanctuary" status, responded to Homan's remarks on BlueSky, the liberal alternative to X. "This is our city. We're going to continue following & enforcing the laws to keep all Bostonians safe. And it goes without saying that our police commissioner has my complete confidence & support," Wu wrote.
Wu also defended Cox, whom she appointed, during a Vietnamese Lunar New Year celebration. She said that they have "the best police commissioner in the country," per The Patriot Ledger, and works to ensure that "Boston is welcoming and safe for everyone."
"This is a city where every single day we strive to be a home for everyone we are intent on delivering city services to every single person, regardless of immigration status, to have that access available," Wu touted.
Wu and Homan have butted heads before. In November, Homan said Wu was "not very smart" and ought to educate herself on federal immigration law. "Either she helps us or gets the hell out of the way because we're going to do it," Homan warned.
In response, Wu reportedly insisted, "Our policies at the local level are in the interest of public safety and our record backs it up."
"Our public safety record speaks for itself: We are the safest major city in America, here in Boston," she reiterated.
The federal government "does what the federal government does," she said, acknowledging that "no city has the authority to override that."
"Elections have consequences," Wu lamented. "But we are also elected here in Boston to do what we do and to focus on our work at the local level."
As of now, Wu said, the city is alerting illegal immigrants of "spaces where the city of Boston does not interact with and does not communicate around immigration status."
Wu is slated to testify before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform about Boston's "sanctuary" policies in early March. Wu was called to Washington alongside the likes of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston.
"Sanctuary mayors owe the American people an explanation for city policies that jeopardize public safety and violate federal immigration law by releasing dangerous criminal illegal aliens back onto the streets," chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY) said of the congressional committee's investigation into these practices that have "led to too many preventable tragedies," "endanger ICE agents," and "prioritize criminal illegal aliens over the American people."
Comer vowed to hold leaders like Wu accountable: "We will press these mayors for answers and examine measures to enforce compliance with federal immigration law."
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