Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, along with mayors from Denver, New York and Chicago, was called to testify before the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee regarding sanctuary city policies in a letter Monday morning.

“The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is investigating sanctuary jurisdictions across the United States and their impact on public safety and the effectiveness of federal efforts to enforce the immigration laws of the United States,” wrote Committee Chair James Comer, critiquing the “misguided and obstructionist policies” effect on safety.

Within the congressional letters, the committee chair requested “documents and information related to the sanctuary policies of” all four cities and invited each mayor to testify at a public hearing on the matter before the committee on Feb. 11 at 10:00 a.m.

Boston is a sanctuary city under the Trust Act, a 2014 city law which prohibits city police and other departments from cooperating with ICE and federal agencies on civil immigration detainers.

The letter defined sanctuary jurisdictions as “‘states, counties or cities that put some limits on how much they are willing to cooperate with federal agencies’ efforts to deport’ illegal aliens,” and said there are 12 states and hundreds of cities and counties which do so.

Among the requests, Comer sought any documents related to the cities’ sanctuary status between city employees and local, state, federal or outside entities from Jan. 1, 2024, to the present.

The letter cited a Trump-ordered “directive to the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security ‘to . . . evaluate and undertake any lawful actions to ensure that so-called ‘sanctuary’ jurisdictions, which seek to interfere with the lawful exercise of Federal law enforcement operations, do not receive access to Federal funds.’”

“In addition to the efforts of the Trump Administration to ensure federal immigration enforcement can proceed unimpeded, Congress must determine whether further legislation is necessary to enhance border security and public safety,” Comer wrote. “It is imperative that federal immigration law is enforced and that criminal aliens are swiftly removed from our communities.”

In response to the letter, a City of Boston spokesperson said, “We are proud that Boston is the safest major city in the United States. We have received the letter and are reviewing it.”

Wu, who has been at high-profile odds with Trump administration officials over deportation plans since making statements in November, also spoke on the administration’s latest threats in a WGBH segment Monday.

“There’s been a lot of bluster so far and a lot of intentional trying to create drama and fear and sort of the perception of fulfilling pretty draconian campaign promises,” Wu said, addressing a clip of Trump administration border czar Tom Homan telling her to “get the hell out of the way.”

“When in reality, our job at the city level, especially, but I would say in government in general, is to understand the law, is to follow the law, and to go by facts rather than just sort of made-up stuff.”

Wu has been at odds with the new Trump administration since November, becoming a focal point for federal officials calling for local cooperation in mass deportations.

The Boston mayor previously said she intended to protect immigrants in “every possible way” from federal deportation efforts. In response, Homan stated harboring or concealing an illegal alien from a law enforcement officer is against federal law.

Expanding on the administration’s “made-up stuff” on WGBH on Monday, Wu called out the new president’s attempt to undo birthright citizenship by executive order, which a judge called “blatantly unconstitutional” and temporarily blocked days later.

Wu also dismissed a letter from the administration to dozens of municipalities “threatening to jail or bring other prosecutorial consequences for not fulfilling their version of what cooperation looks like,” which she said targeted local officials from mayors to police to librarians.

As the first round of deportations under the new administration have taken place, Wu confirmed ICE officials have not been in contact with city officials or local police ahead of raids or after.

The Boston mayor also addressed a new federal policy allowing ICE agents to raid and make arrests in sensitive locations like schools, churches and hospitals. Wu said the city has released guidance informing schools leaders and communities “no unauthorized adults are allowed in school buildings, period, no matter what the purpose is.”

Both police and schools will continue to not ask about or address immigration status, Wu said.

“We know that the federal government will continue to do what they do on the federal side,” Wu said. “We will continue to do what we do on the city side, which is keeping everyone safe here. And we don’t have the authority to, let’s say, stop or overrule what they’re doing in their domain, but neither do they in our domain, either.”

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