Hundreds of people gathered on Boston City Hall plaza this morning for a rally organized to support immigrant communities and Mayor Wu as she began a long day of testimony and questioning in front of a Congressional Oversight committee in Washington, D.C.

The event – billed as a “Stand Out in Solidarity with Immigrant Communities”— included remarks from elected officials and advocates who spoke passionately about the fear building among many Bostonians who see the Trump administration's evolving policies aimed at deportation as a menace to the city at large.

Many led chants like: “This is what democracy looks like!” and “Say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here!”

“We are here supporting our mayor who is in DC fighting for our rights,” said City Councillor-at-Large Julia Mejia, who organized the event. “My mother was undocumented. I know what it’s like to live in fear. In 2016 when the occupant of the White House was elected my six-year-old daughter, the first thing she asked me was if we were going to have to leave.”

Later, Mejia told the Reporter: “Boston is standing on its values and supporting people who are afraid to even go food shopping or go to church. I think this is the sort of stuff that we need to realize that Boston stands with immigrant communities and we’re not afraid.”

“This is our city,” said City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune, echoing a line used by Mayor Wu minutes earlier during a five-minute opening statement to a Congressional committee. The daughter of Haitian immigrants, Louijeune told the large crowd gathered in front of City Hall: “Our city is stronger, and it is safer because of our immigrant residents.”

Maroni Minter, political director with the MIRA Coalition and a self-proclaimed proud immigrant, praised Mayor Wu’s courage and solidarity.

“Mayor Wu, time and time again, you have shown up, you have stood with us, you have shown that you have our back and MIRA wants you to know we have your back,” Minter said to the crowd. “We also want to thank the Boston city council for standing on the right side of history.”

Ann Philbin of Roslindale said she turned out to show support for immigrant neighbors and Mayor Wu.

“I’m hoping that Mayor Wu can actually state factually and morally the important situation in Boston and that we have with the Boston Trust Act, so people realize things are getting better in terms of criminal activity because of it and that, it's a positive to keep everybody safe," said Philbin.

City Councillor Liz Breadon, who emigrated to Boston from Northern Ireland and represents Allston-Brighton, said: “It's a very sad reflection on this great country if we have to stand out here and do this today, but we are in solidarity with our immigrant friends, neighbors, and family members.”

Luz Zambrano, who emigrated to the United States 34 years ago and now lives in East Boston, said she’s
been here “longer than I had lived in my country.”

“Immigrants need the opportunity to show what they know because a lot of us maybe come for reasons that are out of our control like wars and stuff like that. But a lot of us come with experiences, with knowledge, with energy, with visions and we just want the space to develop those things not just for our good but the good of the whole society,” said Zambrano.

Of Mayor Wu, she said: “She has put her face in it, she’s there. She comes to the neighborhoods, she came to East Boston where I live, she went to Chelsea, neighborhoods who are primary immigrants and she heard the stories of people and I think that’s what she’s bringing to Washington now.”

“We have rights. We have the right as a human being to be where we feel safe,” she said.

Kevin Brown, a member of the labor union SEIU 32BJ, was one of many in the crowd who led a chant of “U-S-A.”

“We have to have more American flags at our next rally and I’m going to bring one myself because I love this country. Immigrants love this country. Immigrants come here because they want to be here, they want to pursue the American dream.”

Councillor Enrique Pepén, who represents Mattapan and Hyde Park on the city council, said he was filled with “energy to see the city of Boston come together” in support of the mayor and the policies she’s been called on to defend.

“It just shows the power of unity that no matter what noise we're hearing at a national level, here in Boston, we know what the priority is and will continue to make it a safe, welcoming city,” said Pepén.

Mayoral candidate Josh Kraft visited the rally briefly and addressed a group of reporters, saying he was there to “stand with and support Boston's immigrant community” and to “strongly oppose President Trump's mass deportation plan.”
He added: “I disagree with Secretary Homan's statement talking down about our great city.”

“I think it's unconscionable to think that teams of ICE members could walk into houses of worship in schools and remove, immigrants that are doing, that are not doing, you know, are not involved in criminal activities. It's despicable,” said Kraft, who told reporters he supported the city's existing Trust Act that was the subject of the Republican grilling that Wu faced over while the City Hall rally was happening.

However, when asked specifically about Mayor Wu’s being called in front of Congress today to defend Boston’s policies, Kraft offered no specific words of support for Wu.

“Look, we all know, and I think it's going on now, what's happening in DC is a Republican circus. It has nothing to do with substance, nothing to do with anything that's important to any of us. It's just performative.”