Democrat Boston Mayor Michelle Wu featured a live mariachi band before her press conference about the Trump administrationâs targeting of the city over its sanctuary policies.
Wu held an outdoor press event on Tuesday where she vowed to resist the Department of Justiceâs (DOJ) demands to comply with federal immigration law. The Democrat mayorâs public speech was in response to a deadline set by Attorney General Pam Bondi, in which she demanded Wu voice her commitment to working with immigration authorities and outline a plan to eliminate the cityâs sanctuary laws and policies.
Before launching her press conference, Wu allowed a band led by Veronica Robles â a musician and co-founder of the Veronica Robles Cultural Center â to play mariachi music for attendees.
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âEarly in the morning at the sunrise, everybody happy , out for a long journey for work, loving and caring,â Robles said in English before launching into Spanish lyrics and band members alongside her began playing.
Mariachi is a genre of music dating back generations in Mexico, and typically includes violins, trumpets and a guitar, with band members taking turns singing and performing backup vocals. The bandâs performance on Tuesday was first flagged by Off The Press.
Boston has policies in place that restrict cooperation between local government officials and federal immigration authorities, with the cityâs Trust Act barring collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on matters unrelated to deportation. Shortly after President Donald Trump won a second term in office, the city reaffirmed its sanctuary city status in December.
Bondi issued a letter to Wu on Aug. 13 notifying her that Boston had been identified as a sanctuary jurisdiction for policies that âthwart federal immigration enforcement to the detriment of the interests of the United States.â Bondi declared in the letter that âthis ends nowâ and directed Wu to acknowledge her commitment to ICE compliance within a weekâs time.
The DOJ further threatened that federal funding could be withheld and a civil lawsuit could follow if Boston refused to comply.
In a show of public defiance, Wu vowed Tuesday to remain uncooperative with the Trump administrationâs immigration enforcement aims.
âThe U.S. Attorney General asked for a response by today. So here it is, here is our response,â Wu stated. âStop attacking our cities to hide your administrationâs failures.â
âUnlike the Trump administration, Boston follows the law. And Boston will not back down from who we are and what we stand for,â the mayor continued.
The event was the latest back-and-forth between the Republicans opposed to sanctuary laws and the Boston mayor. House Republicans called on Wu to testify before a committee hearing in March to speak on her cityâs sanctuary policies, where she was grilled alongside the mayors of New York City, Chicago and Denver.
The mayor has also been subject to scrutiny over her alleged ties to Chinese Communist Party influence.
Her 2021 mayoral campaign raked in over $300,000 from Gary Yu, the founder of Boston International Media Consulting, with the assistance of a Chinese civic association that he leads, the Daily Caller News Foundation exclusively reported in April. Yu is identified as an official by an agency of a Chinese Communist Party influence and intelligence service called the United Front Work Department, and works as a recruiter for the Chinese government.
In December 2023, her office accidentally sent an email to all members of the Boston City Council inviting them to an âelecteds of colorâ holiday party that excluded white members. Wu later said the email was a mistake and was not intended to divide the city council, according to local reporting.
Harold Hutchison contributed to this report.
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