Sanctuary backers slam Lelling on ICE
Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone and other sanctuary city supporters are doubling down on pro-immigrant policies in the wake of U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling’s Boston Herald guest column slamming the “genuine and persistent threat” to local communities.
“Sanctuary Cities are leading the way for what this country should stand for, and we’re not backing down,” Curtatone said in a statement.
Curtatone said sanctuary cities are not dangerous, noting that the crime rate in his city decreased by more than half since establishing its sanctuary status in 1987.
In a Monday guest column, Lelling wrote sanctuary citiesmake it harder to protect law-abiding residents and that Boston is leading a “competition to see who can be the least helpful” to ICE.
“Our residents fall victim to violent crimes committed by people who, if there was a secure border and better cooperation with immigration authorities, wouldn’t be here at all,” said Lelling.
Oren Sellstrom, litigation director for Lawyers for Civil Rights, disputed the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s “election-year fear-mongering.”
“Local police in Massachusetts and across the country know that when local law enforcement becomes entangled with ICE, we are all made less safe,” Sellstrom said, adding that sanctuary cities promote public safety.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Boston Acting Field Office Director Todd Lyons stood behind Lelling, saying in a statement, “The men and women of ICE stand committed to public safety regardless of reckless sanctuary policies that do nothing to protect communities.”
Marion Davis, director of communications for the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, said, “It’s disappointing to see a law enforcement officer basically speak ill of fellow law enforcement.”
Davis said, “To suggest Boston is soft on crime is really offensive … there’s a very big difference between fighting crime and detaining immigrants for civil offenses.”
Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts, said, “Welcoming ordinances make cities and towns safer by disentangling local law enforcement from President Trump’s deportation machine and improving communication between immigrants and police.”
When asked for a response from Mayor Martin Walsh, a vocal supporter of immigrants and Boston’s sanctuary status, a spokeswoman directed the Herald to the updated Trust Act, which distinguishes the roles of Boston Police from those of ICE.
The act, which Lelling condemned, was originally signed in 2014 and updated in December. Under the act, Boston Police work with the Homeland Security Investigations division of ICE on public safety matters while civil immigration enforcement remains the responsibility of ICE.
“Various towns and cities are increasingly hostile to ICE’s efforts to enforce federal law,” wrote Lelling.