Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, a Democrat, has previously faced criticism for comments she made about ICE agents. (Matt Stone/Boston Herald/Getty Images)
Pressed on whether ICE will surge agents to the Boston area, similar to how agents are currently in Washington, D.C., Lyons responded, "100 percent you will see a larger ICE presence."
"We’re definitely going to, as you’ve heard the saying, flood the zone, especially in sanctuary jurisdictions," he went on. "And obviously Boston and Massachusetts decided that they wanted to stay sanctuaries and sanctuary does not mean safer streets it means more criminal aliens out and about in neighborhoods."
Lyons pointed out that during Operation Patriot, ICE pursued "targeted enforcement operations" of criminal aliens released by the city of Boston and Massachusetts.
Operation Patriot resulted in the arrest of nearly 1,500 illegal immigrants, including murderers, rapists, drug traffickers and child sex predators.
Sources at ICE told Fox News that 790 of those arrested had criminal convictions or charges, and 277 had final removal or deportation orders. The sources said that all the targeted criminals were roaming the streets of Massachusetts cities freely before being apprehended.
BIKE-RIDING YOUTHS TERRORIZE DEM-RUN CITY AS MOBS SWARM ROADS, WHILE MAYOR STAYS SILENT ON CHAOS
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a news conference at the DEA headquarters on July 15, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
The letter, shared on social media, said cooperation between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including on immigration enforcement, "is vital to enforce federal law and protect national security."
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Wu publicly rejected Bondi’s demands during a press conference, calling the ultimatum a political stunt.
"Stop attacking our cities to hide your administration's failures. Unlike the Trump administration, Boston follows the law," Wu said Tuesday. "This is our city. This 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."
In response to Lyons' comments, Wu's office shared a statement from the mayor who was answering another reporter's question. Wu reiterated, "In Boston, we comply and follow all of the laws, city, state and federal. And we will not back down from communities that have made us the safest major city in the country.
"This is a beautiful, diverse, incredible city and I have said it now very directly this administration needs to stop attacking cities to hide their own failures," she added.
Fox News Digital's Charles Creitz and Madison Colombo contributed to this report.
Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ice-chief-vows-flood-boston-agents-after-dem-mayor-vows-resist