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At Sanctuary City Hearing, Boston Mayor Rebukes GOP's 'False Narrative' About Immigrants
"If you wanted to make us safe, pass gun reforms. Stop cutting Medicaid," said Mayor Michelle Wu. "Stop cutting funds for veterans."
Mar 05, 2025
At an all-day hearing on sanctuary cities held by the U.S. House Oversight Committee, Republican lawmakers were intent on vilifying the Democratic mayors of Chicago, Boston, and other cities and accusing them of allowing undocumented immigrants to run rampant by refusing to authorize local police forces to work with the federal government on immigration enforcement.
But the narrative of dangerous immigrants and crime-ridden Democratic-led cities did not sit well with the local leaders who voluntarily testified before the committee, and Democratic Boston Mayor Michelle Wu appeared to welcome the opportunity to set the record straight regarding immigration reform and the broader GOP agenda.
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) accused Wu of acting unconstitutionally by setting immigration statutes in Boston that differ from federal policies under the Trump administration, which has launched a nationwide deportation operation led by border czar Thomas Homan and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
As a sanctuary city, Boston does not fully cooperate with ICE to arrest undocumented immigrants, but Wu noted in the hearing that under a local law called the Trust Act, authorities work with the agency "every single day on criminal matters and hold people who are committing crimes accountable."
When Gosar demanded to know whether Wu defers to local, state, or federal laws when there is a distinction in immigration-related policies, the mayor pointed out that local leaders are not required to follow federal law "in conflict with local laws or state laws."
"The federal government has jurisdiction and supremacy over all immigration laws," replied Gosar. "We're the ones that define that. We just heard, 'We want comprehensive immigration policy.' How can you get a comprehensive immigration policy when you're defying it from the get-go?"
Wu answered that Congress could pass "bipartisan legislation, and that would be comprehensive immigration law."
"The false narrative is that immigrants in general are criminals or immigrants in general cause all sorts of danger and harm. That is actually what is undermining safety in our communities," she said, adding that Republicans could end their efforts to cut Medicaid and health research, and pass broadly popular gun control legislation.
"That is what would make our city safe," said Wu.
Wu further suggested she won't be pressured into changing her city's immigration policies to match President Donald Trump's when she said Boston has not historically been governed by "the word of presidents, or kings, or presidents who think they are kings."
The mayor fiercely defended her record as the city's leader and spoke out against characterizations of Boston and other large cities as crime-ridden, noting that officials recorded the lowest number of homicides in Boston last year since at least 1957.
She called on Homan to testify on Capitol Hill after Ranking Member Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) pointed to the border czar's comments from last month about Boston. Without citing specifics, Homan accused Massachusetts authorities of allowing "multiple" violent criminals who were unauthorized to be in the U.S. to walk free from jails.
"Shame on him for lying about my city, for having the nerve to insult our police commissioner who has overseen the safest Boston has been in anyone's lifetime," said Wu.
In Boston, city councilors and advocacy groups led local residents in a rally supporting Wu and the city's immigrant community. Attendees held signs that read, "Stay the hell out of Boston, Homan" and chanted, "Say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here!"
From Washington, Wu sent home a message via social media: "To every one of my neighbors back in Boston, know this: You belong here. This is your home. Boston es tu hogar. Boston se lakay ou... This is our city. We are the safest major city in the nation because we are safe for everyone."
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) accused Wu of acting unconstitutionally by setting immigration statutes in Boston that differ from federal policies under the Trump administration, which has launched a nationwide deportation operation led by border czar Thomas Homan and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
As a sanctuary city, Boston does not fully cooperate with ICE to arrest undocumented immigrants, but Wu noted in the hearing that under a local law called the Trust Act, authorities work with the agency "every single day on criminal matters and hold people who are committing crimes accountable."
When Gosar demanded to know whether Wu defers to local, state, or federal laws when there is a distinction in immigration-related policies, the mayor pointed out that local leaders are not required to follow federal law "in conflict with local laws or state laws."
"The federal government has jurisdiction and supremacy over all immigration laws," replied Gosar. "We're the ones that define that. We just heard, 'We want comprehensive immigration policy.' How can you get a comprehensive immigration policy when you're defying it from the get-go?"
Wu answered that Congress could pass "bipartisan legislation, and that would be comprehensive immigration law."
"The false narrative is that immigrants in general are criminals or immigrants in general cause all sorts of danger and harm. That is actually what is undermining safety in our communities," she said, adding that Republicans could end their efforts to cut Medicaid and health research, and pass broadly popular gun control legislation.
"That is what would make our city safe," said Wu.
Wu further suggested she won't be pressured into changing her city's immigration policies to match President Donald Trump's when she said Boston has not historically been governed by "the word of presidents, or kings, or presidents who think they are kings."
The mayor fiercely defended her record as the city's leader and spoke out against characterizations of Boston and other large cities as crime-ridden, noting that officials recorded the lowest number of homicides in Boston last year since at least 1957.
She called on Homan to testify on Capitol Hill after Ranking Member Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) pointed to the border czar's comments from last month about Boston. Without citing specifics, Homan accused Massachusetts authorities of allowing "multiple" violent criminals who were unauthorized to be in the U.S. to walk free from jails.
"Shame on him for lying about my city, for having the nerve to insult our police commissioner who has overseen the safest Boston has been in anyone's lifetime," said Wu.
In Boston, city councilors and advocacy groups led local residents in a rally supporting Wu and the city's immigrant community. Attendees held signs that read, "Stay the hell out of Boston, Homan" and chanted, "Say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here!"
From Washington, Wu sent home a message via social media: "To every one of my neighbors back in Boston, know this: You belong here. This is your home. Boston es tu hogar. Boston se lakay ou... This is our city. We are the safest major city in the nation because we are safe for everyone."
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'We Are All Culpable': Matt Nelson Self-Immolates to Protest Israel's Gaza Onslaught
In a video, Nelson said he would set himself ablaze "to stop supplying Israel with the money and weapons it uses to imprison and murder innocent Palestinians" and "to pressure Israel to end the genocide in Gaza."
Sep 13, 2024
For the third time since Israel launched a war on Gaza for which it is currently on trial for genocide at the World Court, a person in the United States has set themself on fire to protest Israel's killing of more than 41,000 Palestinians and U.S. complicity in the slaughter.
In an incident all but completely ignored by the U.S. corporate media, a man identified as Matt Nelson set himself alight near the Israeli Consulate in Boston at around 8:15 pm local time on Wednesday, September 11.
"My name is Matt Nelson and I'm about to engage in an extreme act of protest," he said in a video first uploaded to YouTube on Wednesday. "We are all culpable in the ongoing genocide in Gaza."
"We are slaves to capitalism and the military-industrial complex. Most of us are too apathetic to care," Nelson continued. "The protest I'm about to engage in is a call to our government to stop supplying Israel with the money and weapons it uses to imprison and murder innocent Palestinians, to pressure Israel to end the genocide in Gaza, and to support the [International Criminal Court] indictment of [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu and other members of the Israeli government."
"A democracy is supposed to serve the will of the people, not the interests of the wealthy," he added. "Take the power back. Free Palestine."
According to NBC Boston, first responders confirmed a man suffered serious burn injuries. Nelson's current condition has not been reported.
NBC Boston and other local media took flak from critics on social media, who noted that the outlets chose to report the incident's location as "outside the Four Seasons Hotel" instead of by the Israeli Consulate.
Nelson is the third person known to have self-immolated in Gaza-related protests in the United States since October.
On December 1, a woman—whose identity remains unknown—carrying a Palestinian flag was hospitalized in critical condition after setting herself alight outside the Israeli consulate in Atlanta. Police called it an "act of extreme political protest." Israeli Consul-General Anat Sultan-Dadon called it an act of "hate and incitement toward Israel."
Then, in an incident that gained worldwide attention, Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old active-duty U.S. airman, doused himself in an unknown accelerant, donned his service cap, and set himself ablaze in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. on February 25.
Bushnell repeatedly screamed "Free Palestine" as he burned. Secret Service officers quickly rushed to the scene, with at least one of them drawing his pistol and pointing it at the burning man while ordering him to "get on the ground, you fucker."
As he screamed and writhed in agony, Bushnell managed one final, garbled, yet unmistakable "free Palestine" as his body was engulfed in flames. He died later that day.
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After Weekend Walkouts, Hotel Worker Strikes Grow on Labor Day
"We refuse to accept wages that can't support our families. It's insulting. And it ends now."
Sep 02, 2024
After approximately 10,000 hotel workers across the United States walked off the job over the weekend ahead of Labor Day, the strikes not only continued but grew on Monday, with employees of the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor taking to the streets.
In Maryland's biggest city, workers with UNITE HERE Local 7 carried signs that said, "Respect our work," "One job should be enough," and "Make them pay."
Sharing a video of the picket line on social media, the union said: "We refuse to accept wages that can't support our families. It's insulting. And it ends now."
The Baltimore workers joined staff from two dozen other hotels in Boston, Greenwich, Honolulu, Kauai, San Francisco, San Diego, San Jose, and Seattle who started their strikes on Sunday and plan to stay on the picket line through Tuesday.
"10,000 hotel workers across the U.S. are on strike because the hotel industry has gotten off track," UNITE HERE international president Gwen Mills said in a statement. "During Covid, everyone suffered, but now the hotel industry is making record profits while workers and guests are left behind. Too many hotels still haven't restored standard services that guests deserve, like automatic daily housekeeping and room service."
"Workers aren't making enough to support their families," she emphasized. "Many can no longer afford to live in the cities that they welcome guests to, and painful workloads are breaking their bodies. We won't accept a 'new normal' where hotel companies profit by cutting their offerings to guests and abandoning their commitments to workers."
Striking workers echoed the messages from Mills and their signs. Christian Carbajal, a market attendant who has worked for 15 years at the Hilton Bayfront in San Diego, said that "I'm on strike because I don't want hotels to become the next airline industry."
"I used to work in room service, but after Covid, they closed my department. Now I work in the grab-and-go market," Carbajal continued. "Guests complain to me that they can no longer get a steak delivered up to the room, and the tips aren't what they used to be. I'm making less than I used to, and now two families share my house because we can't afford the rent anymore. The hotels should respect our work and our guests."
Elena Duran, who has worked as a server at Marriott's Palace Hotel in San Francisco for 33 years, similarly said that "since Covid, they're expecting us to give five-star service with three-star staff."
"A couple weeks ago, we were at 98% occupancy, but they only put three servers when we used to be a team of four or five," Duran noted. "It's too much pressure on us to go faster and faster instead of calling in more people to work."
Mary Taboniar, who has been a housekeeper at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu for six years, said that "I have to work a second job because my job at the hotel is not enough to support my kids as a single mom."
"I'm living on the edge where I'm not sure if I'll be able to pay our rent and groceries or provide my family with healthcare," Taboniar added. "It's so stressful. One job should be enough."
Daniela Campusano, who has been at Hilton's Hampton Inn & Homewood Suites in Boston's Seaport District for a dozen years, also said she is not making enough as a housekeeper.
"I'm on strike because I need higher wages. I currently have two jobs, and I work about 65 hours a week," Campusano said. "Everything is so expensive now—all my monthly bills have increased, and I need to earn more money so I can help my daughter pay for her university studies. One job should be enough."
Fellow housekeeper Rebeca Laroque, who has been at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich for the past 12 years, explained that "I'm on strike because I need more wages, I need the health insurance, and I need less rooms."
"I work so hard and come home exhausted at the end of the day, but I still don't make enough money to pay my bills," Laroque said. "Going on strike is a huge sacrifice, but it's something I have to do because I need a better life for me and my two kids."
Other groups and lawmakers expressed solidarity with the striking hotel workers, including the AFL-CIO, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, the National Employment Law Project, the United Auto Workers, and U.S. Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.).
Along with corporate price gouging that is driving up prices, hotel workers have been impacted by practices including stock buybacks. An Institute for Policy Studies analysis released last week shows that Hilton and Marriott are among the 20 largest low-wage employers who have poured millions of dollars into share repurchases since 2019.
Meanwhile, Americans' support for organized labor has hit a seven-decade high, according to Gallup recent polling. Citing that survey, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Monday that "the working people of our country are increasingly aware of the unprecedented level of corporate greed and power we are now experiencing, and the outrageous level of income and wealth inequality that exists."
"They understand that never before in American history have so few had so much, while so many continue to struggle," he added. "And they are fighting back."
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