Boston City Council member Sharon Durkan found herself in damage control mode after mocking former Trump administration official and Border Czar Tom Homan’s career history—only to walk back her comments shortly after.
Durkan, a progressive city leader and vocal supporter of Boston’s sanctuary policies, initially dismissed Homan as someone whose law enforcement experience amounted to "policing a town smaller than a Fenway Park crowd." However, her attempt to downplay his credentials quickly backfired.
After a Fox News Digital request for comment, Durkan posted a follow-up statement clarifying that she does, in fact, understand that Homan spent his career as a federal agent with Border Patrol and ICE. Still, she insisted that his experience in immigration enforcement did not translate to "community policing," where she believes "trust and accountability are key."
The controversy erupted after Homan, speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), took aim at Boston’s sanctuary policies and the city’s top cop, Police Commissioner Michael Cox. Homan accused Cox of abandoning law enforcement principles by refusing to cooperate with ICE detainer requests—decisions that have resulted in the release of violent criminal migrants back into the streets.
"I'm coming to Boston, and I'm bringing hell with me," Homan declared during his speech. "I stopped counting at nine. Nine child rapists that were in jail in Massachusetts, but rather than honoring an ICE detainer, you released them back into the street."
His blunt criticism was aimed directly at Cox: "You're not a police commissioner. Take that badge off your chest. Put it in the desk drawer. Because you became a politician. You forgot what it’s like to be a cop."
Durkan’s response was swift but ill-advised. By cherry-picking Homan’s early career as a small-town police officer and ignoring his decades of leadership within federal immigration enforcement—spanning both the Obama and Trump administrations—she attempted to discredit his authority on border policy and public safety. But the facts weren’t on her side. Homan’s resume speaks for itself: he rose through the ranks at ICE, served as acting director under Trump, and has been a leading voice on immigration enforcement for years.
Durkan’s original post, in which she declared it “laughable” that Homan thought he could “lecture Boston on public safety,” was meant as a show of defiance. "Tom Homan should know, we don’t scare easy," she added. But as backlash mounted, she quickly shifted to a more measured tone, conceding Homan’s federal experience while still defending her position.
This exchange is just the latest flashpoint in Boston’s ongoing battle over sanctuary policies. Despite mounting evidence that criminal migrants are being shielded from deportation—even those linked to violent gangs—city leaders like Durkan and Cox remain firm in their refusal to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Massachusetts law, as Cox himself pointed out, prevents Boston police from enforcing ICE detainers, a stance that has been a hallmark of the state’s progressive leadership.