BOSTON — She hiked your taxes. She hiked her own salary. And now she's spending millions on services for illegal immigrants.
Mayor Michelle Wu — whose pay ballooned from $207,000 to a cool $250,000 after a roughly 20% raise — stood inside City Hall on Tuesday to announce a sweeping new public-private partnership funneling millions into immigrant services across the city.
Mayor Wu announced millions in new funding for immigrant services at City Hall on Tuesday.
The funding will cover legal help for immigrants navigating the naturalization process, mental health services, grocery and diaper deliveries, second-language learning, "know your rights" courses, and emergency preparedness.
"Whether your family has been here for generations or you are a new resident in our city, we will not let anyone storm into Boston and disrupt our community," Wu said.
The announcement comes just months after Boston homeowners were slapped with the highest property tax increase in nearly 20 years — a hike Wu's administration pushed through without providing required valuation data to the City Council before the hearing. Councilors were expected to debate Boston's tax rates with no numbers, no valuations, and no justification.
Three philanthropic organizations open their checkbooks
The Boston Foundation, the Barr Foundation, and the United Way of Massachusetts Bay have committed to the partnership. The city itself is kicking in additional grant funding through the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Advancement.
Elected officials and nonprofit leaders referenced the Trump administration repeatedly during the announcement.
City Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune said she was spurred by residents asking what the city's leaders were doing to stand up to Trump.
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"Vigilance requires resources, and in this moment, in order for us to be ready, in order for us to protect our residents, we have to have the resources to do that," she said.
Louijeune referenced a Haitian man who was arrested in Boston and died in ICE custody after his family alleged he received inadequate treatment for a toothache, which led to sepsis.
Meanwhile, on the streets
While City Hall rolls out immigrant resources, ICE Boston has been busy pulling people off Massachusetts streets with serious criminal histories.
An illegal immigrant living in Massachusetts raped a woman who refused to take nude photos of her 12-year-old daughter for him. Another was convicted of indecent assault on a child under 14 and had been living freely in the state.
A Honduran illegal immigrant with convictions for assault, narcotics, illegal gun possession, and escaping custody — arrested by ICE Boston this week.
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ICE's field office director has previously called Massachusetts officials' approach "politically motivated," accusing the state of releasing criminals rather than cooperating with federal immigration authorities.
The spending record
Wu's salary jumped from $207,000 to $250,000 — a roughly 20% raise — just before she told homeowners they'd need to pay more in property taxes.
Wu's spending priorities have drawn increasing scrutiny. Since she took office, Boston's DEI office budget has ballooned by more than 300% while homeowners face consecutive double-digit tax hikes. The mayor also recently jetted off on her second international trip in weeks — a jaunt to Germany — while residents dealt with the fallout.
Wu has focused much of her energy on high-profile fights with the federal administration while core municipal issues — housing, affordability, and public safety — continue to deteriorate.
Boston firefighters, meanwhile, are getting roughly 2% annual raises — barely keeping pace with inflation — while the mayor who employs them pocketed a $43,000 bump.
Wu promoted a city resource guide for immigrants and said the funding would help coordinate delivery of basic necessities to immigrant families across Boston.
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