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Somerville and Chelsea are asking a federal judge to block the Trump administration’s “illegal campaign of bullying and intimidation.”
Two Massachusetts “sanctuary cities” sued the federal government Monday, challenging the Trump administration’s attempts to “bully” them into participating in mass deportation efforts under threat of legal action and funding cuts.
Somerville and Chelsea contend federal leaders’ “heavy-handed tactics” amount to executive overreach and an unconstitutional attack on so-called sanctuary cities — communities that limit or avoid cooperation with federal immigration authorities. They’re asking a federal judge to block the “illegal campaign of bullying and intimidation.”
The lawsuit comes days after Tom Homan, President Donald Trump’s border czar, said he’s “bringing hell” to Boston and blasted the city’s police commissioner over local immigration law enforcement.
What does the lawsuit say?
Filed by the nonprofit legal organization Lawyers for Civil Rights, the lawsuit from Somerville and Chelsea argues that sanctuary policies help residents feel comfortable reporting incidents to police and assisting investigations without worrying about their immigration status.
“Public safety is the top priority for the City of Chelsea — we cannot afford to have our residents fear reporting crimes or engaging with local law enforcement, as this undermines the safety of everyone in our community,” Chelsea City Manager Fidel Maltez said in a statement.
Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne added: “Our residents know that our community is safer when police focus on preventing crime and leave federal immigration enforcement to the Feds.”
Monday’s lawsuit cites a number of recent steps the Trump administration has taken to crack down on sanctuary cities, including executive orders that threaten to stop the flow of federal funds. Both Somerville and Chelsea say those cuts would have devastating consequences for their respective budgets, particularly in areas of public safety, transportation, and basic city services.
Chelsea received about $14.5 million in federal funding for fiscal year 2024, and Somerville took home approximately $19.4 million in federal funds, according to a press release announcing the lawsuit.
“The President cannot use federal funding as a weapon to force local governments to undermine public safety and their values and participate in his mass deportation efforts,” said Oren Sellstrom, Lawyers for Civil Rights litigation director. “Today’s lawsuit seeks to protect sanctuary and welcoming cities, so they can continue to make public safety decisions that are in the best interests of their residents.”
Somerville and Chelsea policies at a glance
According to the complaint, Somerville and Chelsea argue their sanctuary statuses — in place since 1987 and 2007, respectively — don’t interfere with federal law enforcement operations and “reflect no attempt to conceal, harbor, or shield” anyone from detection.
The Chelsea Police Department enacted a policy in 2017 that bars police from undertaking immigration-related investigations or routinely inquiring about individuals’ status, with exceptions for “arrests for violent felonies, already convicted felons, terrorism-related offenses, human trafficking, and criminal gang activities,” the lawsuit states.
Chelsea’s policy also prohibits officers from directly participating in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactical operations solely for civil enforcement of federal immigration laws, except under certain circumstances. Being present in the U.S. without proper authorization is typically a civil violation, not a criminal offense.
Somerville police have adopted a similar order, which states, in part, “Somerville Police Officers WILL NOT have a direct role in an operation initiated by federal authorities to arrest or detain an individual sought for an immigration violation,” according to the lawsuit.
Ballantyne, Somerville’s mayor, urged the Trump administration to “let us serve our communities as we know is best.”
“Bullying sanctuary cities is not just an assault on immigrants or cities — it’s an assault on all of us, on state and local rights, on the economy, and the Constitution,” she added. “So, Somerville is standing up for what is both lawful and right.”
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