00:00we're here again today because last week Boston received a letter from the
00:07Attorney General of the United States on official letterhead from the federal
00:12government threatening to prosecute city officials and withhold federal funds
00:18unless we cooperate with carrying out mass deportations at a time when this
00:28federal administration is already causing so much fear and harm in our
00:33communities these threats are serious and consequential but our same communities
00:40have told me loud and clear that silence in the face of oppression is not an
00:47option the US Attorney General asked for a response by today so here it is
01:04here is our response stop attacking our cities to hide your administration's
01:19failures
01:24unlike the Trump administration Boston follows the law and Boston will not back
01:32down from who we are and what we stand for we will not back away from our
01:42community that has made us the safest major city in the country and a leading
01:47example of why cities around the country make this country safer healthier and more
01:53prosperous for all Americans to all the federal officials attacking communities
02:03that embody diversity creativity and moral clarity we may have said this in DC
02:10nearly six months ago and I'll say it again today you are wrong on the law and you
02:15are wrong on safety most of all you are wrong on cities the cities that live in your minds are
02:30totally foreign to the residents living in our cities and we are picking up the
02:37pieces of your failures to deliver on your promises under the Trump
02:44administration groceries are less affordable housing is harder to build cures
02:51for cancer are farther away and good news on our economy has been as hard to find as
02:57as the Epstein list
03:06but as always as always cities are doing everything we can to protect our
03:14residents and keep moving forward while you are cutting health care and food
03:19assistance for our families Boston has launched new coalitions to connect
03:24residents to fresh food stable housing and job training to build healthy long lives
03:29while you attempt to unlawfully cancel grants for our schools and roads we funded 10,000 paid
03:43summer jobs for our young people opened a thousand new seats in free high quality early
03:49education classrooms for our littlest learners fixed more than 27,000 potholes and
03:54repave more than 80 miles of city streets
04:01while you're slashing funding for our universities hospitals and research
04:06institutions Boston is building pathways to community college and UMass Boston
04:12joining with industry to train hundreds of residents for careers in life sciences and
04:17clean energy and partnering with our city's largest employers to double the size of
04:22our health careers high school
04:29while you deploy military personnel to occupy American streets we are building
04:36community safety our police don't have to hide their faces
04:45Boston police do not hide their faces because they are members of our community our officers keep
04:59us safe by getting to know our residents not working to remove them back in June the city of Boston
05:06filed a freedom of information request with ice demanding the bare minimum of transparency from our federal government
05:12ice talked a big game promise that they would get us information and it's been two months without any answers
05:19so today we will file a formal appeal insisting that ice produce the public records we asked for and we're prepared to take additional legal steps if they continue to refuse transparency
05:27over the last several months we've watched Donald Trump send the National Guard into L.A. and D.C. to stoke fear and disorder
05:34Boston stands with these cities as they sue over his abuse of power we have reviewed those cases and we are prepared to stand up for our city's rights if we need to
05:41your attacks all come back to a common aim to a common aim to a common aim the Trump administration seeks to divide isolate and
05:44the National Guard and the National Guard and the National Guard into L.A. and D.C. to stoke fear and disorder
05:48Boston stands with these cities as they sue over his abuse of power we have reviewed those cases and we are prepared to stand up for our city's rights if we need to
05:56your attacks all come back to a common aim the Trump administration seeks to divide isolate and
06:10intimidate cities and make Americans fearful of one another but Boston is proof of
06:17something far more powerful than lies and intimidation that safety and community come
06:24from loving your neighbor as yourself
06:33Attorney General Bondi we are gathered here today to show you who we are in Boston
06:39more than a hundred years before your home state was founded Bostonians were across the street in Faneuil Hall setting the foundation for our democracy and rule of law
06:54100 years before that Bostonians were founding the first public school and public park in the country this has always been a city of revolution
07:08of innovation of innovation of standing up for the public good and never bowing down to tyranny
07:15with me today our fellow public servants and veterans public safety and faith leaders civil rights advocates and labor union members
07:32teachers and business owners entrepreneurs and artists youth and seniors this is our city
07:39this is our country and I'm so proud and grateful to show the world who our community is here in Boston and what we're made of cities aren't a threat to America
07:45they fuel the American dream they bring us together great cities make our country great Boston will never back down from being a beacon of freedom and a home for everyone
08:00bostonis
08:12bostonis
08:15bostonis
08:21bostonis
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