Chair Comer, Ranking Member Connolly, and members of the Committee, My name is Michelle Wu.
I am the daughter of immigrants, and since November of 2021, I have had the honor of serving as mayor of Boston.
I’m proud to be here on behalf of our city—the police officers, first responders, and city workers…the faith leaders, teachers, parents, and neighbors—who partner every day to make Boston the safest major city in the nation.
And I’m proud to work alongside the greatest Police Commissioner in the country: Michael Cox.
Every year since I took office, we’ve set a new record low for gun violence in Boston.
Last year, Boston saw the fewest homicides on record in the last 70 years. Those are the facts.
And behind these record lows are historic highs:
The most-ever young people working paid summer jobs…the most pre-k seats at no cost to families…the most affordable housing built in a generation.
We have invested in the kinds of opportunities that cultivate prosperity and eradicate crime.
And the laws on our books promote the kind of community trust that keeps all of us safe.
In Boston, our Police Department resources—and taxpayer dollars—go toward preventing and solving crimes.
And when it comes to criminal matters, Boston Police collaborate with state and federal law enforcement every day.
But Massachusetts State law and the Boston Trust Act make clear that immigration is federal law enforcement’s responsibility.
We are the safest major city in the country…
Because our gun laws are the strongest in the nation…
Because our officers have built relationships over decades…
And because all of our residents trust that they can call 911 in the event of an emergency or to report a crime.
This federal administration’s approach is undermining that trust.
In the past month, I’ve met with residents and faith leaders in community centers and places of worship, asking my constituents what they want Congress to know.
And what I heard over and over again was fear and frustration:
spoke with pastors whose pews are half-empty on Sundays… Doctors whose patients are missing appointments…
Teachers whose students aren’t coming to class.
Neighbors afraid to report crimes in their communities, and victims of violence who won’t call the police.
This federal administration is making hard-working, tax-paying, God-fearing people afraid to live their lives.
A city that’s scared…is not a city that’s safe.
A land ruled by fear…is not the land of the free.
Next month, Boston will celebrate 250 years of our nation’s freedom.
And in every one of those years, Boston has welcomed the world to our shores.
From the English immigrants fleeing religious persecution, to the Irish forced out by famine…
To the families from Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cabo Verde, Vietnam, and so many more that call Boston home today.
We are the safest major city in the nation.
We are home to the greatest healthcare…
The greatest colleges and universities…the most advanced innovators…and the 2024 World Champion Boston Celtics. We are the cradle of democracy and the city of champions.
We are all these things not in spite of our immigrants, but because of them:
One in seven signers of the Declaration of Independence were immigrants. On the last four Red Sox rosters to win a World Series, one in five were immigrants. Of all the faculty at Boston University to have earned the Nobel Prize, all but one were immigrants.
Today, one in four Boston residents were born somewhere else. Most have jobs; many have kids.
All of them chose this country as home, because—like my mom and dad—they believed that, here, where you’ve been doesn’t limit where you’re going; the strength of your character has nothing to do with the color of your passport; and that how hard you work matters more than where you were born.
That—wherever you’re from—if you pitch in, look out for your neighbors, and cheer for the home team, you can build a better future here for the people you love.
So to every one of my neighbors back in Boston, know this:
You belong here; this is your home. Boston es tu hogar. Boston se lakay ou. 這是你的家. This is our city.