Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu is keeping silent after an illegal immigrant was caught using a taxpayer-funded migrant shelter in the Boston suburbs for criminal activity, including storing a weapon and nearly $1 million worth of drugs.
Wu failed to respond to repeated requests for comment from Fox News Digital, despite the migrant shelter involved being just a short drive from Downtown Boston.
Leonardo Andujar Sanchez, a 28-year-old illegal immigrant from the Dominican Republic, is facing criminal charges in federal court for illegally possessing an AR-15 and ammunition and over 400 grams of fentanyl with intent to distribute, according to a statement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
Boston 25 News also reported that Sanchez was also caught possessing cocaine with “an estimated street value of at least $750,000.” He is currently being kept in custody by state authorities.
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Mayor Michelle Wu gets emotional during the dedication of a new fire hose to the Boston Fire Department in memory of Michael Kennedy, who died while battling a massive Back Bay fire. (Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
Sanchez was storing his weapon and drugs in his room at the Quality Inn Hotel in Revere, Massachusetts, which is a government-funded shelter for migrants.
Boston and Massachusetts both have sanctuary policies in place and both Wu and Governor Maure Healey have vowed to resist President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to crack down on illegal immigration.
Despite this, Healey expressed anger over the incident, saying, “It’s outrageous that this individual took advantage of our shelter system to engage in criminal activity.”
Healey ordered an inspection of all shelters, starting with the Quality Inn Hotel in Revere, as well as a “full review” of the state’s shelter intake processes.
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President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to deport illegal criminal immigrants. (Getty Images)
“This further underscores our broken federal immigration system and the urgent need for Congress and the White House to act on a border security bill to prevent criminals from entering our communities,” said Healey. “The people of Massachusetts should not continue to have to deal with the impacts of federal inaction.”
However, Wu, who has said Boston’s sanctuary policies “make everyone safer,” has remained silent. Although Fox News Digital spoke with Wu’s office, neither she nor her office have issued any response to Sanchez’s arrest.
Since Trump’s 2024 electoral victory, Wu has doubled down on Boston’s sanctuary city status, saying police and city officials would not assist federal authorities with deportations.
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Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, left, and Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey visit the Melnea A. Cass Recreational Complex, which was being used to house more than 300 migrants. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
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Meanwhile, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has seen a recent spike in illegal immigrants arrested for sex crimes in the Boston area and throughout Massachusetts.
Trump’s incoming border czar Tom Homan has called out Wu for pledging resistance to the administration’s immigration agenda, telling Newsmax in November that “she’s not very smart.”
“President Trump is going to prioritize public safety threats,” said Homan. “What mayor or governor doesn’t want public safety threats out of their communities? I mean that’s your number one responsibility is to protect your communities and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”
