BOSTON (WHDH) - Boston Mayor Michelle Wu responded Tuesday to comments made about her by President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for “border czar.”
When Tom Homan was asked on a national television program about Wu’s take on immigration and deportation, he said, “She’s not very smart, I’ll give her that.”
In response to Trump’s mass deportation plans for his second term, Wu has stood firm, saying Boston police officers are here to help immigrants — not hurt them. She said officers will never use immigration status as a reason to arrest people or cooperate with federal agents to do so.
Wu said that it keeps the city safe.
“One of the impacts of widespread sense of fear around immigration is the worry that people who need help won’t reach out, or people who need to report crimes will not then contact law enforcement,” Wu said.
In response to Homan’s jab at her intelligence, the mayor — a Harvard University graduate — laughed.
“People can say whatever they want in politics,” Wu said, chuckling.
However, the idea of mass deportation is frightening for many migrants and their advocates.
“We’re concerned, but at the same time, we’re trying to tell people to take a step, look at your status situation — there are legal protections in place to protect people. The president is going to have a harder time than he thinks to deport millions of people,” said Jeff Thielman, president and CEO of the International Institute of New England.
Homan said, whether Wu likes it or not, that he plans to begin deporting undocumented migrants on day one.
“So either she helps us or she gets the hell out of the way ’cause we’re going to do it,” Homan said.
However, Wu said she will follow the sanctuary city rules that are on the books in Massachusetts.
“This is our community. We know our community best. We will be taking the actions that we believe are in the best interest of our residents in Boston,” she said.
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