(NewsNation) — Two Massachusetts sanctuary cities have filed a lawsuit against several federal officials, including President Donald Trump, alleging the government is attempting to coerce them into the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts.
The cities of Chelsea and Somerville filed a federal lawsuit this week challenging the Trump administration’s efforts and arguing that federal officials are threatening to defund local efforts to keep their communities safe.
The lawsuit was filed after Trump border czar Tom Homan claimed he was “coming to Boston and bringing hell with me.”
The lawsuit, which was filed by city officials who are represented by Lawyers For Civil Rights, argues the administration’s threat of stripping sanctuary cities of federal funding violates the cities’ constitutional rights.
“Public safety is the top priority for the City of Chelsea—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,” Chelsea City Manager Fidel Maltez said in a statement.
Chelsea has been a sanctuary city since 2007 and “is stronger because of our immigrant population, and we will not let fear or misinformation divide us,” the city manager said. Somerville has maintained its sanctuary city status since 1987 and has reaffirmed its commitment to that status three times since 2016, City Council President Judy Pineda Neufeld said.
Census information shows that 24.8% of Chelsea residents are foreign-born while 45.3% of Sommerville residents fall into that category.
She said the federal government’s attempts to coerce city officials into betraying its immigrant neighbors are “unconstitutional, morally unacceptable and a danger” to the full community.
“Our city’s values are clear: We will protect the dignity, safety, and rights of all of our residents, regardless of immigration status,” Pineda Neufeld said.
In fiscal year 2024, Chelsea received about $14.5 million in federal funding, part of which went to education and downtown reconstruction projects. During the same time, Somerville received about $19.4 million in federal money to support a variety of community and public safety services. Those projects include roadway safety initiatives, homelessness prevention services and efforts to address and reduce youth tobacco use and alcohol consumption, the city said.
The lawsuit alleges that since taking office in January, Trump’s executive orders have threatened to keep federal funding from sanctuary cities that do not cooperate with federal immigration agents as part of the mass deportation effort. Homan has visited cities like Chicago, where ICE raids were conducted shortly after Trump’s inauguration, and has targeted cities that push back against federal involvement in immigration enforcement.
Maltez, the Chelsea city manager, told GBH News that since Trump took office in January, the city’s downtown district has seen a decline in foot traffic. He said the city received reports of immigration agents being in local businesses.
“And honestly, it created a lot of fear in our community,” Maltez told the local television station. “We hear from our residents almost every day about how they are scared of walking in our streets.”
The lawsuit also names the Department of Justice and Attorney General Pam Bondi, the Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Kristi Noem and the Department of Transportation and Secretary Sean Duffy as defendants.
In a statement provided to NewsNation, a senior official with the Department of Homeland Security, which is also listed as a defendant in the lawsuit, said: “If cities and states want federal funds, they should stop obstructing federal immigration officials from enforcing the law. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem’s leadership, we are going after the worst of the worst.
“These sanctuary cities are more concerned with protecting illegal alien murderers and rapists than American citizens. If jurisdictions want to thwart federal law, then they will have to face the consequences.”
The suit argues Trump’s executive orders have said sanctuary cities will not receive DOJ funding and that the Department of Transportation will deprioritize those cities as well. Despite the threats of funding being stopped, attorneys representing the two cities say the municipalities have no plans to abandon their sanctuary status.
“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,” Oren Sellstrom, one of the Massachusetts cities’ attorneys, said in a statement. “(The) 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.”
