Mayor Wu said on Monday that the city of Boston is not aware of any demonstrable change in tactics or in the volume of federal immigration enforcement in city neighborhoods in recent days, although she acknowledged that federal agents do not typically share intelligence about their actions and movements with Boston law enforcement or city officials.

In an appearance on WGBH radio on Monday afternoon, Wu said that she has detected a shift in the public’s perception of increased enforcement, but she said there was not yet clear evidence of any actual acceleration by the Boston office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“There’s been a lot of bluster so far and a lot of intentionally trying to create drama and fear and the perception of fulfilling pretty draconian campaign promises,” Wu said during an interview with Jim Braude and guest host Shirley Leung.

Wu said that the volume of enforcement actions, so far, are not unlike what was seen under previous administrations, including the recent Biden term.

“But now,” Wu noted, “it’s with Fox News embedded and with this element of wanting to sensationalize and stoke fear.”

Wu’s comments come amid heightened alarm among many Bostonians, particularly those with loved ones who may be living in the city without permission or who have temporary status under federal law. Rumors— most unsubstantiated and spread via social media posts— have been rampant in recent days.

The anxiety level has been ratcheted up by actual statements from top Trump administration officials, who have indicated that more vigorous arrests and deportations are planned in the future.

Last week in East Boston, ICE agents did take into custody a 25-year-old Haitian national who they said was convicted of 17 crimes while living in Massachusetts in recent years. The Jan. 22 arrest of Wisteguens Jean Quely Charles was documented by a TV crew attached to FoxNews and broadcast widely around the nation.

His case been used to fuel unsubstantiated rumors of a more widespread round-up of undocumented persons in the Greater Boston area triggered by a more aggressive policy under the new Trump administration.

In fact, sources familiar with the arrest told The Reporter, the Jan. 22 arrest of Charles as part of a warrant execution was “business as usual” and not evidence of a stepped-up ICE campaign or new tactics by local law enforcement.

“Mr. Charles is illegally present the United States and has consistently broken our laws causing significant harm to the residents of Massachusetts,” acting ICE Field Office director Patricia H. Hyde said in a statement specific to Charles’s arrest. “[We] will not tolerate the repeated victimization of our New England neighborhoods. We will continue our mission to apprehend such illegal alien offenders and remove them from our communities.”

According to a statement posted on the ICE website, Charles entered the United States “lawfully” through Miami in 2013, but has subsequently “violated the terms of his lawful admission” by being involved in drug-related, gun and violent offenses for which he was convicted between 2022 and 2024.

The federal authorities say they intended to detain, and presumably, seek to deport Charles after his release from the Norfolk House of Correction in 2023, but he was released “without honoring the immigration detainer.”

Charles is now in custody and is expected to go before a “DOJ immigration judge” next.

In her comments on the radio on Monday, Mayor Wu said there has been no change to longstanding Boston practices when it comes to enforcing immigration laws.

“Whenever someone breaks the law, we hold them accountable here and will continue to do that,” Wu said. She added: “The federal government has their purview.”

Wu said that city officials “are not aware” of any significant change in ICE activity “across the wide jurisdiction that ICE Boston agency has.” However, she noted that ICE does “not communicate with BPD or inform the city ahead of time, so we don’t have a lot of information on that front.”

She added: “I hope this administration will prioritize keeping its enforcement to those with a demonstrated history or convictions of violent crime rather than trying to stoke fear.”

Wu noted that Boston is widely considered the safest major city in the United States. Last year, it recorded the fewest number of homicides in decades and saw a decrease in shootings and gunshot victims.

“We don’t have the authority to overrule in [federal] domain, and they don’t have the authority to overrule ours. We will continue to follow all the laws,” Wu said. “It doesn’t help anyone from a public safety perspective when people are forced into the shadows because of fear.”

Host Braude noted that one of Wu’s predecessors – former Mayor Marty Walsh –in 2017 offered to shelter undocumented people in Boston City Hall during the first Trump administration.

When asked if she would renew that offer, Wu said that such a “performative action” could “put residents at even greater risk” and was “not a helpful step in the current context.”