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New U.S. attorney plans to investigate ‘anyone’ who obstructs ICE, including local officials
"ICE is not asking them to do ICE’s job. We want them to do their jobs, but we would also expect that they don’t interfere," U.S. Attorney Leah Foley told reporters.
Leah Foley, the new U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, told reporters Wednesday that her office would not hesitate to investigate and arrest anyone who “obstructs” federal efforts to detain and deport undocumented immigrants. This could theoretically include local leaders, school officials, or even church workers.
“We arrest people when they obstruct justice and impede the law enforcement officers from carrying out their jobs,” Foley said, per the The Boston Globe. “If anyone, regardless of who they are, obstructs justice and the administration of justice, our office will investigate.”
Foley, a 54-year-old with more than 20 years experience in the Department of Justice, was appointed to be the top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts the day after President Donald Trump returned to office. As the Trump administration works to implement what was billed as the largest mass deportation effort in American history, Foley’s actions in the Bay State will be heavily scrutinized.
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In Boston and other Massachusetts communities, certain “sanctuary” policies are in place that limit the cooperation between local police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Foley said she plans to meet with Gov. Maura Healey and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu to discuss ways they can collaborate.
Local law enforcement officials in Massachusetts cannot make arrests based on federal civil immigration matters, the state’s Supreme Judicial Court ruled in 2017. But Healey said last year that Massachusetts is “not a sanctuary state” and repeatedly assures residents that violent criminals should be deported and are being deported. In Boston, an existing ordinance supported by Wu and City Council allows Boston Police to coordinate with ICE in cases that involve “issues of significant public safety” like human trafficking, child exploitation, drug and weapons trafficking, and cybercrimes.
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“We’re not asking them to do our jobs. ICE is not asking them to do ICE’s job. We want them to do their jobs, but we would also expect that they don’t interfere,” Foley said, according to footage from WCVB.
Foley’s comments echo those made by Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan last year. Homan and Wu had a testy exchange of public comments after Wu reiterated that local police would not involve themselves in mass deportations just to fulfill a campaign promise made by Trump.
“Either she helps us or gets the hell out of the way because we’re going to do it,” Homan said of Wu. “And look, there’s a clear line here. … They can not cooperate, but there are certain laws in place that they can’t cross, and I hope she doesn’t cross it.”
Wu is one of four mayors of major cities who are being called to testify before Congress about their “sanctuary” policies. Wu will go to Washington, D.C., to testify, but is asking lawmakers for more time before traveling since she gave birth to her third child last month.
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In the meantime, Foley vowed to prioritize investigations into people here illegally who may have committed crimes.
“If they are here illegally, and they are committing crimes, those are the priority cases and people who this office is going to target,” she said.
Wu did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.
“As a former prosecutor and Attorney General, Governor Healey has been clear that violent criminals should be deported. Law enforcement agencies across the state routinely work with federal authorities to keep our communities safe,” a spokesperson for Healey said in a statement.
Shortly after being sworn in Wednesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered the DOJ to pause the distribution of all department funds to “sanctuary” jurisdictions.
On the day of Foley’s appointment, the Trump administration reversed policies that restricted federal agents from carrying out immigration enforcement in “sensitive locations” like schools and churches. Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove also sent a memo to DOJ employees that week ordering them to investigate state or local officials who refuse to enforce Trump’s policy changes around immigration enforcement.
The DOJ also has a new “Sanctuary Cities Enforcement Working Group” that will identify local policies that are “inconsistent” with federal immigration initiatives and potentially take legal action to challenge those policies.
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As rumors of ICE activity pop up every day across Massachusetts, many immigrant communities are living in fear of raids.
Foley insisted that her office’s focus on criminals should produce the opposite effect.
“I don’t understand how people say that makes them scared,” she said. “I think they should have the contrary belief that it’s also going to make their communities safer.”
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