Boston Mayor Michelle Wu filed FOIA requests to obtain the names and addresses of private property owners in Boston who responded to an ICE inquiry about leasing parking spaces in the city. People who answered a question about renting out parking spots to a federal agency. Private citizens who returned a phone call.

The mayor of a major American city is now using the machinery of government to hunt down private citizens for cooperating with federal law enforcement.

Wu's office submitted the records requests to identify businesses and property owners who engaged with ICE's open procurement process. The agency had been seeking to lease parking spaces — a routine logistical step — and Wu apparently decided that anyone who returned the call needed to be identified.

Wu tried to frame the whole thing as administrative housekeeping. "We haven't had direct communication from [ICE], but this is not a surprise because even when we've asked for specific information, it's been difficult or impossible to get it," she said. She added that she understood "this was part of an open process to start laying the groundwork for potential procurement or what's called an RFP to actually get parking spots."

So she knows it was a standard procurement process. She said as much. And she filed government records requests to identify the private citizens who participated in it anyway. Once she has their names, her office plans to contact them directly — to, in her words, "make sure they understand our view on how dangerous this could be for our residents."

That's not a policy position. That's the mayor of Boston calling your business to explain that she's watching.

DHS didn't mince words. "These actions by sanctuary Mayor Michelle Wu are unhinged," the department said. "She knows she has NO authority to block us from using private property." DHS continued: "So she's hunting down private property owners and threatening them for working with ICE — because she'd rather intimidate law-abiding Bostonians than get criminal illegal aliens OFF the street."

That line captures the entire blue-city calculation in one sentence. The priority is making sure no one within city limits lifts a finger to help the federal government enforce laws the mayor personally dislikes. Public safety, by this logic, is a secondary concern.

FOIA was designed to make government transparent and accountable to citizens. Wu is using it to find out which citizens cooperated with the federal government. Transparency laws exist so the public can watch the government. Wu flipped it so the government can watch the public.

And that's the pattern. Sanctuary city mayors don't just refuse to cooperate with ICE — that ship sailed years ago. They've moved into active retaliation against their own residents who dare to cooperate. The message to every business owner in Boston is clear: if the federal government comes calling, don't answer, because your own city hall will come for you next.

Wu admitted the ICE process was open and standard. DHS confirmed she has no legal authority to block private property owners from doing business with federal agencies. She did it anyway.

When the law is on your side and the mayor still comes after you, call it what it is: a protection racket with a municipal seal.