DHS calls Boston Mayor Michelle Wu unhinged over ICE parking fight

Key Points:

• The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) criticized Boston Mayor Michelle Wu for her efforts to discourage private property owners from leasing parking spaces to ICE, calling her actions "unhinged" and accusing her of intimidating law-abiding citizens.
• After Boston banned ICE vehicles from city-owned parking lots, ICE sought to rent 249 contiguous parking spaces in the city for five years, prompting Wu to issue an open letter urging private garage and lot owners to reject ICE staging facilities.
• Wu and six other Greater Boston cities signed executive orders prohibiting ICE from using municipal property for operations, and the Boston City Council passed an emergency resolution opposing increased ICE presence and proposed parking leases.
• Boston submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to ICE seeking all local responses to ICE’s parking space solicitation, which DHS responded to by accusing Wu of lacking authority to block ICE from private property and labeling her a "pro-criminal illegal alien politician."
• ICE is seeking surge parking spaces in multiple major U.S. cities, including Denver, Seattle, Philadelphia, Dallas, Phoenix, and Pittsburgh, as part of its nationwide operational needs.