Massachusetts cities sue Trump administration over threats to federal funding

Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald on Feb 24, 2025

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A pair of Massachusetts cities that maintain “sanctuary” policies have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over threats to cut federal funding if they don’t comply with the president’s plans for mass deportations.

The cities of Somerville and Chelsea announced the lawsuit on Monday. Oren Sellstrom, Litigation Director at Lawyers for Civil Rights and one of the cities’ attorneys, said during an afternoon press conference that his clients will not be intimidated.

“The President cannot use federal funding as a weapon to force local governments to undermine public safety and their values and participate in his mass deportation efforts,” Sellstrom said. “Today’s lawsuit seeks to protect sanctuary and welcoming cities, so they can continue to make public safety decisions that are in the best interests of their residents.”

The lawsuit comes in response to a pair of executive orders issued by Trump which indicate federal funding could be halted for any city that doesn’t allow their law enforcement agencies to assist with immigration enforcement, as has been the policy in Somerville since 1987 and Chelsea since 2007.

The suit is also a response to a warning from the Department of Justice that sanctuary city officials face civil suit and criminal prosecution as well as a freeze on DOJ funds meant for their jurisdictions if they take “actions that impede federal efforts to enforce immigration law threaten public safety and national security.”

“State and local jurisdictions must comply with applicable immigration-related federal laws,” the Attorney General’s office wrote in an early February memorandum. “State and local actors may not impede, obstruct, or otherwise fail to comply with lawful immigration-related directives pursuant to the President’s Article II authority to ensure national security, the Immigration and Nationality Act, or other authorities.”

But Chelsea City Manager Fidel Maltez, said if members of immigrant communities fear deportation or other enforcement actions will come if they interact with law enforcement, then crimes will go unreported and investigations become more difficult. That makes Chelsea less safe, not more, he said.

“Public safety is the top priority for the City of Chelsea—we cannot afford to have our residents fear reporting crimes or engaging with local law enforcement, as this undermines the safety of everyone in our community. The City of Chelsea has been firmly committed to being a Sanctuary City since 2007. We are stronger because of our immigrant population, and we will not let fear or misinformation divide us. Chelsea is a city for all, and that will never change,” he said.

Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne said that using federal funding as a cudgel to force local cooperation on a matter of federal responsibility is unconstitutional and “frankly embarrassing.” An attack against her city’s immigrant communities, she said, constitutes an attack against all its residents.

“Bullying sanctuary cities is not just an assault on immigrants or cities—it’s an assault on all of us, on state and local rights, on the economy, and the Constitution. So, Somerville is standing up for what is both lawful and right,” she said.

Stripping federal funds from either city over local policy matters, Ballantyne said, won’t just hurt the immigrants in those cities, but will impact other vulnerable populations that rely on promised federal aid.

“We know politicized withholding of federal funding threatens the health and safety of all residents be it your neighbor who relies on Meals on Wheels for dinner or your kids who need road investments for a safer walk to school. We urge the Administration to honor our Constitution and let us serve our communities as we know is best.

In fiscal year 2024 Somerville received approximately $19.4 million in federal funding “to support a variety of community and public safety services, including roadway safety initiatives, homeless prevention services, and efforts to address and reduce youth tobacco usage and alcohol consumption,” according to information provided by city officials.

In the same fiscal period Chelsea received approximately $14.5 million in federal funding designated for “education and a downtown reconstruction project.”

According to Sellstrom, the lawsuit aims to see President Trump’s executive orders overturned nationwide and to stop enforcement of the DoJ memo and similar threats coming from the Department of Transportation to withhold funding for infrastructure projects planned in non-compliant jurisdictions.

This isn’t a fight either city wanted, Ballantyne said, but it’s one they’re ready for.

“This isn’t something you should have to fight for in court — but that is what we are stepping up to do,” she said.

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