BOSTON — The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Thursday against the City of Boston, Mayor Michelle Wu, the Boston Police Department and the police commissioner over the city’s sanctuary policies, alleging they impede federal immigration enforcement. The action was announced in a DOJ Office of Public Affairs press release dated Sept. 4, 2025.
“The City of Boston and its mayor have been among the worst sanctuary offenders in America – they explicitly enforce policies designed to undermine law enforcement and protect illegal aliens from justice,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “If Boston won’t protect its citizens from illegal alien crime, this Department of Justice will.”
The department asserted that the city’s policies violate federal law and lead to the release of offenders who would otherwise face removal. “Not only are Boston’s sanctuary city policies illegal under federal law, but, as alleged in the complaint, Boston’s refusal to cooperate with federal immigration authorities results in the release of dangerous criminals from police custody who would otherwise be subject to removal, including illegal aliens convicted of aggravated assault, burglary, and drug and human trafficking, onto the streets,” the press release states.
According to the department, Bondi on her first day in office directed the Justice Department’s Civil Division to identify state and local policies that “facilitate violations of federal immigration laws or impede lawful federal immigration operations,” later publishing a list of sanctuary jurisdictions on Aug. 5 that included Boston. “Today’s lawsuit is the latest in a series of lawsuits brought by the Civil Division targeting illegal sanctuary city policies across the country, including in New York, New Jersey, and Los Angeles, California,” the release said.
