Federal judge dismisses Trump administration's sanctuary lawsuit against Boston

Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald on May 28, 2026

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A federal judge dismissed the Trump administration’s lawsuit challenging the City of Boston’s sanctuary protections for illegal immigrants.

U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin on Thursday granted the city’s motion to dismiss the case filed by the Department of Justice last September, ruling that the United States’ claims “fail at the threshold” because it “has not made a plausible showing that its alleged injuries are redressable by the judicial relief it seeks.”

“The redressability problem here is as straightforward as it is fatal to the United States’ claim,” Sorokin wrote. “As a matter of Massachusetts law, Boston law enforcement officers may not detain a person solely based on a federal immigration detainer or administrative warrant because no authority empowers them to do so.

“With or without the Boston Trust Act, then, Boston police officers cannot detain a person pursuant solely to a federal civil immigration detainer,” Sorokin added. “The relief the United States seeks — an order enjoining the City of Boston from enforcing the Trust Act’s prohibition on detaining noncitizens solely pursuant to a civil immigration detainer or administrative warrant — could not alter this status quo.”

At issue in the case was the Boston Trust Act, which prohibits Boston Police and other city departments from cooperating with ICE on civil immigration detainers.

The law, enacted in 2014 and then amended in 2019, allows for cooperation in criminal matters like human trafficking, child exploitation, drug and weapons trafficking, and cybercrimes.

The day’s ruling from Sorokin, who was appointed to his position by former President Barack Obama, dismisses all claims against Mayor Michelle Wu, Police Commissioner Michael Cox and the Boston Police Department.

Mayor Wu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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