Boston City Council Adopts Immigrant-Rights Resolutions, Splits 10-2 on State Bills

BOSTON — March 5, 2025 — Boston City Council adopts dual immigration resolutions and clears nine schools for state repair funding. In a meeting punctuated by a City Hall Plaza rally held while Mayor Michelle Wu testified before Congress in Washington, the council voted 10-2 to endorse a trio of pending Massachusetts bills — the Safe Communities Act, the Immigrant Legal Defense Act, and the Dignity Not Deportations Act — and then voted 12-0 to denounce the Trump administration's rollback of Temporary Protected Status for Haitian and Venezuelan communities. Councilors Benjamin J. Weber and Julia M. Mejia led the floor debate on docket 0619, while Councilors Erin J. Murphy and Edward M. Flynn voted no, each citing a preference for a committee hearing before endorsing legislation still in its early stages on Beacon Hill. Council President Ruthzee Louijeune, the lead sponsor of the TPS resolution, told colleagues that "close to 500,000 Haitians nationwide depend on TPS protections." The council also unanimously passed docket 0459 authorizing MSBA accelerated repair submissions for nine schools, while holding a separate submission for Madison Park Technical Vocational High School pending a School Committee vote expected before March 19.