Mariachi band opens Democrat mayor’s pro-sanctuary city press conference

Democrat Boston Mayor Michelle Wu featured a live mariachi band before her press conference about the Trump administration’s targeting of the city over its sanctuary policies.

Wu held an outdoor press event on Tuesday where she vowed to resist the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) demands to comply with federal immigration law. The Democrat mayor’s public speech was in response to a deadline set by Attorney General Pam Bondi, in which she demanded Wu voice her commitment to working with immigration authorities and outline a plan to eliminate the city’s sanctuary laws and policies.

Before launching her press conference, Wu allowed a band led by Veronica Robles — a musician and co-founder of the Veronica Robles Cultural Center — to play mariachi music for attendees.

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“Early in the morning at the sunrise, everybody happy [sic], out for a long journey for work, loving and caring,” Robles said in English before launching into Spanish lyrics, and band members alongside her began playing.

Mariachi is a genre of music dating back generations in Mexico, and typically includes violins, trumpets, and a guitar, with band members taking turns singing and performing backup vocals. The band’s performance on Tuesday was first flagged by Off The Press.

Boston has policies in place that restrict cooperation between local government officials and federal immigration authorities, with the city’s Trust Act barring collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on matters unrelated to deportation. Shortly after President Donald Trump won a second term in office, the city reaffirmed its sanctuary city status in December.

Bondi issued a letter to Wu on Aug. 13 notifying her that Boston had been identified as a sanctuary jurisdiction for policies that “thwart federal immigration enforcement to the detriment of the interests of the United States.” Bondi declared in the letter that “this ends now” and directed Wu to acknowledge her commitment to ICE compliance within a week’s time.

The DOJ further threatened that federal funding could be withheld and a civil lawsuit could follow if Boston refused to comply.

In a show of public defiance, Wu vowed Tuesday to remain uncooperative with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement aims.

“The U.S. Attorney General asked for a response by today. So here it is, here is our response,” Wu stated. “Stop attacking our cities to hide your administration’s failures.”

“Unlike the Trump administration, Boston follows the law. And Boston will not back down from who we are and what we stand for,” the mayor continued.

The event was the latest back-and-forth between the Republicans opposed to sanctuary laws and the Boston mayor. House Republicans called on Wu to testify before a committee hearing in March to speak on her city’s sanctuary policies, where she was grilled alongside the mayors of New York City, Chicago, and Denver.

The mayor has also been subject to scrutiny over her alleged ties to Chinese Communist Party influence.

Her 2021 mayoral campaign raked in over $300,000 from Gary Yu, the founder of Boston International Media Consulting, with the assistance of a Chinese civic association that he leads, the Daily Caller News Foundation exclusively reported in April. Yu is identified as an official by an agency of a Chinese Communist Party influence and intelligence service called the United Front Work Department, and works as a recruiter for the Chinese government.

In December 2023, her office accidentally sent an email to all members of the Boston City Council inviting them to an “electeds of color” holiday party that excluded white members. Wu later said the email was a mistake and was not intended to divide the city council, according to local reporting.

Harold Hutchison contributed to this report.