Boston officials say ICE is dragging its feet on public records request

Officials in Boston have accused ICE of withholding information related to immigration arrests in the city.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu directed staff to submit a Freedom of Information Act request to Immigration and Customs Enforcement to release detailed information about individuals who had been arrested or detained by federal agents. ICE denied the request, according to a formal appeal filed by city lawyers.

The back and forth over public records is the latest in the ongoing – and increasingly public – political feud between Wu and the Trump administration over immigration enforcement in Boston.

The fight over federal records began June 13, when Boston emailed ICE its initial request. Days earlier, Wu had signed an executive order pledging to regularly submit records requests to provide greater transparency over immigration enforcement actions.

The request asked ICE for the names of people arrested or detained, and the reason why they were targeted. It also asked for information on ICE tactics and policies, such as the use of face masks.

ICE responded nearly two weeks later, asking for further clarification about the request. City lawyers wrote back asking ICE to explain – but the federal agency didn’t respond. On July 18, the city amended its FOIA request in order to help ICE begin the "initial production" of records, which included data already publicly produced by the federal agency, according to the city’s email.

Last week, ICE again said it needed “further clarification” about the request and called it “too broad in scope.”

That response prompted the formal appeal from Boston. In its Aug. 19 letter to ICE, it accused the agency of "unlawfully" failing to respond to the city's FOIA request.

"It is apparent from this message that ICE is not engaging with the city's request," wrote city attorney Adam Cederbaum.

ICE didn’t return an email seeking comment.