The bureaucratic tiff comes as immigration enforcement remains at the fore of pubic debate, and as President-elect Donald Trump has vowed mass deportations.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials disputed claims from the Boston Police Department that it refused 15 requests to detain people who faced deportation last year, saying police in fact denied nearly 200 such requests.

ICE says it issued 198 detainer requests with the Boston Police Department last year. BPD Commissioner Michael Cox said there were only 15.

The Boston Police Department did not fulfill 15 requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain people suspected of being undocumented immigrants in 2024.

Federal authorities said the Boston Police Department refused to act on 198 immigration detainer requests last year, far exceeding the 15 reported by BPD’s commissioner, while blasting the city for jeopardizing “public safety and national security.

Boston police say state and local laws prevent them from detaining a person solely based on immigration status.

The Boston Police Department refused all 15 civil requests from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement last year seeking cooperation in detaining people who faced deportation, meeting its obligation under a city law that limits police involvement with federal immigration matters.

The Boston Police Department acknowledged that federal authorities may have issued a higher number of immigration detainer requests in 2024 than what was reported by the BPD commissioner, citing communication issues stemming from faxed requests.