DOJ lawsuit over Boston’s sanctuary city status might get extended timeline

Boston and Mayor Michelle Wu will now have until mid-November to respond to a lawsuit filed by the U S Department of Justice targeting the city s sanctuary statute if a judge allows a request from both sides to extend the time table The City requires additional time to prepare a response given the complexity and seriousness of the issues involved a joint motion to extend the event s briefing schedule states adding that the DOJ would then require more time for its own response Neither party opposes the other s request and no party will suffer prejudice by this extension of time U S Attorney General Pam Bondi in announcing the suit filed Sept announced Boston and Mayor Wu have been among the worst sanctuary offenders in America they explicitly enforce policies designed to undermine law enforcement and protect illegal aliens from justice The suit targets the city s Boston Trust Act statute and names as defendants the city itself the Boston Police Department Wu and BPD Commissioner Michael Cox They had days to respond to the complaint The new motion would allow a new deadline of Nov for the defendants to respond and a month Dec for the DOJ to issue its response to any motion to dismiss Then the city would have until Jan to add any additional filings to backing a motion to dismiss The Boston Trust Act passed by City Council in states that the BPD nor other city agencies are to assist U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement with apprehension of illegal immigrants nor to recognize or comply with civil immigration detainers by U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agencies are also supposed to record such requests A update codified training for police officers and others on how to comply with the statute and clarified that agencies were allowed to work with federal law enforcement including ICE on investigations not related to immigration status This unconstitutional attack on our city is not a surprise Wu reported in an initial reaction to the suit Boston is a thriving population the economic and cultural hub of New England and the safest major city in the country but this administration is intent on attacking our public to advance their own authoritarian agenda she added This is our City and we will vigorously defend our laws and the constitutional rights of cities which have been repeatedly upheld in courts across the country We will not yield Photo by Andrew Harnik Getty ImagesAttorney General Pam Bondi