Overview

• A Justice Department letter ordered Boston to confirm compliance by Aug. 19 and detail immediate steps to remove policies that impede federal immigration enforcement.
• Mayor Michelle Wu says the city will submit a written reply and has scheduled a 9:30 a.m. City Hall Plaza news conference with other elected officials and local leaders.
• Wu has signaled Boston will defend its current approach, asserting the city follows the law and will not back down from threats.
• Attorney General Pam Bondi’s enforcement push targeted 35 jurisdictions nationwide, and she publicly defended the demand letters in a Fox News interview.
• Federal officials want local police to honor ICE detainers by holding people for pickup, but Massachusetts’ highest court bars police from holding individuals solely on civil immigration detainers.