CHELSEA, Mass. — A pair of sanctuary cities in Massachusetts filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s attempts to coerce them into participating in mass deportation efforts, officials announced Monday.
The nonprofit legal organization Lawyers for Civil Rights filed the suit on behalf of Chelsea and Somerville, alleging that their Constitutional rights have been violated by President Donald Trump’s threats to strip sanctuary cities of federal funding and prosecute them for failing to bend to his will.
Somerville and Chelsea have identified as sanctuary cities since 1987 and 2007, respectively. Chelsea City Manager Fidel Maltez and Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne both fear victims and witnesses in their cities will be less likely to report crimes if they know that local police are working in concert with federal immigration authorities.
“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,” Maltez said in a statement. “The City of Chelsea has been firmly committed to being a Sanctuary City since 2007. We are stronger because of our immigrant population, and we will not let fear or misinformation divide us. Chelsea is a city for all, and that will never change.”
Ballantyne added, “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. So, Somerville is standing up for what is both lawful and right. Our residents know that our community is safer when police focus on preventing crime and leave federal immigration enforcement to the Feds. We know that stripping localities of their right to lawful local policies erodes everyone’s rights.”
Since returning to office in January, Trump has issued executive orders threatening to cut off federal funds to sanctuary cities unwilling to use municipal resources to carry out federal responsibilities and the Department of Justice has warned of criminal and civil prosecutions against them while freezing all funding. The Department of Transportation has said it will de-prioritize transportation funding to sanctuary cities.
The lawsuit asks a federal court to hold that the executive orders, as well as the DOJ and DOT directives, are unconstitutional and to enjoin them from being enforced.
“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, Litigation Director of Lawyers for Civil Rights. “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.”
The announcement of this lawsuit comes after Trump administration border czar Tom Homan singled out Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox, who recently doubled down on the city’s sanctuary policies and said his officers would not assist ICE with deportation operations.
“You said you doubled down on not helping the law enforcement officers of ICE. I’m coming to Boston, and I’m bringing hell with me,” Homan said.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu responded Sunday, calling Homan’s comments “clueless and insulting.”
Boston 25 News has reached out to the Trump administration for comment on the lawsuit.
Read the full lawsuit below:
Sanctuary Cities Lawsuit 2-24-25 by Boston 25 Desk on Scribd
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