BOSTON — Mayor Michelle Wu rolled out a brand-new Boston Police contract on Monday — and instead of focusing on crime, staffing, or public safety, she hopped on Instagram and opened with an attack on ICE.

Wu used her post announcing the one-year deal with the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association to swipe at federal immigration officers, declaring that the city “will not resemble masked federal agents dragging parents from their children.” The contract includes a modest 2% raise and a new requirement that patrol officers wear name tags, but the message quickly shifted from local law-enforcement policy to national activism.

It was a moment designed to highlight unity and progress with Boston cops. Instead, the mayor used her biggest policing announcement in months to revive her decades-long fight with federal immigration enforcement. Boston’s own officers barely got a sentence before Wu turned the spotlight onto ICE.

Residents scrolling through the announcement expecting details on police staffing, training, or crime response instead got a lecture about immigration raids — even as shoplifting crews, nighttime street violence, and open-air drug markets continue to dominate neighborhood complaints.

The announcement felt less like a Boston policing update and more like a progressive campaign post aimed at national followers. Police got a contract. The city got another reminder of Wu’s priorities. And the focus — once again — wasn’t crime in Boston, but ICE agents thousands of miles away.

Meanwhile, business owners downtown say retail theft crews are acting with impunity, the South End continues to reel from drug-related chaos, and residents across the city report feeling less safe than they did before Wu took office.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mayor Michelle Wu 吳弭 (@mayorwu)

Boston’s police contract should have been a moment to talk about supporting officers, addressing staffing shortages, and restoring trust in neighborhoods dealing with real disorder. Instead, the mayor picked a fight with federal agents who had nothing to do with the announcement — and residents noticed.

While officers get a raise, Wu gets another chance to broadcast her ideological credentials on Instagram. And Boston gets a mayor still more interested in battling ICE online than battling crime at home.