Border czar Tom Homan made pointed comments about Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox during a speech at a political convention.
White House border czar Tom Homan on Saturday threatened he'll be "bringing hell" to Boston over its sanctuary city policy.
He made the comment, and also criticized Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox, during what NBC News reported was a profanity-laced speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference, before President Donald Trump took the stage, on the administration's goals for enforcing immigration.
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It's the latest salvo in the dispute between the city and the federal government over immigration enforcement — Mayor Michelle Wu is due to testify before a U.S. House committee next month on the city's sanctuary policy, along with the mayors of New York, Chicago and Denver. Wu has said the policy is part of what makes Boston among the safest cities in the country, though the Trump administration and others blame undocumented immigrants for crime.
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In his speech, Homan said to sanctuary cities — which limit their cooperation with federal immigration enforcement agents, often following state law — that it's now "game on" with the Trump administration, which now has its attorney general and FBI director in place. His comments about Boston focused largely on Cox.
"I read a story last night about the police commissioner of Boston. You said you'd double down on not helping law enforcement office of ICE. I'm coming to Boston, I'm bringing hell with me," Homan said, to cheers from the crowd at the political convention.
Cox said in an interview last week that Boston police have rules aligning with state law on civil detainers filed by federal immigration law enforcement, The Boston Herald reported. A Fox News article later characterized it as "doubling down."
Homan went on, referring to recent cases of accused child rapists who'd been released in Massachusetts despite ICE filing to have them detained later being arrested by ICE.
The border czar then pivoted back to Cox: "You're not a police commissioner. Take that badge off your chest, put it in a desk drawer, because you became a politician. You forgot what it was like to be a cop. And guess what, the men and women of Immigration and Custom Enforcement, they found those predators, they're locked back up and they're going to be deported from the United States."
NBC10 Boston has reached out to the Boston Police Department for comment.
Wu, on social media, responded to a video of Homan's comments by writing, "This is our city. We’re going to continue following & enforcing the laws to keep all Bostonians safe. And it goes without saying that our police commissioner has my complete confidence & support."
