By Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s administration is defending a taxpayer-funded program that offers participants $575 to complete leadership and community-organizing training, with eligibility extending to immigrants in the country illegally. The controversy adds another dispute over public resources to the Democratic mayor’s clashes with conservatives over immigration.
Immigrants Lead Boston teaches participants how to navigate city government, work with public officials and advocate for their communities. Its latest session began Sept. 21 and runs through Dec. 5, combining online instruction with in-person meetings, acccording to The Boston Globe. Boston’s program materials list community organizing, public speaking and building leadership teams among the subjects covered.
The initiative began in fall 2020 under then-Mayor Marty Walsh and now operates through the Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Advancement in partnership with the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition. Applicants have been “encouraged to apply regardless of their immigration status,” with recruitment aimed at “emerging leaders committed to advocating for their immigrant community in Boston.”
The payments, described by the city as “scholarships,” go to participants who finish the program. City officials say the money compensates residents for the time required to attend rather than serving as a general cash benefit. More than 100 residents, including citizens and noncitizens, have completed the training since its launch.
Conservative commentator Natalie Winters brought renewed attention to the initiative Saturday with a Substack article titled “Boston is paying illegal aliens to become community organizers.” Its subhead, “Michelle Wu is building an activist pipeline,” captured the criticism that Boston is using public money to cultivate advocates rather than simply provide municipal services.
The backlash spread through conservative media and social accounts, with critics questioning both the payments and who qualifies. But claims that the program excludes American citizens conflict with the administration’s stated eligibility rules.
“This program is not limited to non-U.S. citizens, and it is open to any Bostonian with ties to immigrant communities,” Wu spokesperson Marcela Dwork said Monday night. She added that “conflating immigrants with non-citizens ignores a basic fact: many immigrants are U.S. citizens.”
Boston’s current program website likewise identifies eligible applicants as adult city residents with ties to immigrant communities. That clarification addresses claims about citizens being excluded, but leaves the underlying spending dispute: the city is paying selected residents, including those without legal status, to develop organizing and advocacy skills.
The controversy fits a broader political divide surrounding Wu’s immigration agenda. In March 2025, she appeared before the Republican-led House Oversight Committee alongside the mayors of Chicago, Denver and New York to defend municipal immigration policies. Wu argued that Boston’s approach helped maintain public safety and trust, while Republicans challenged sanctuary policies that restrict cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
Wu has also faced scrutiny over her campaign’s fundraising network. Her 2021 mayoral campaign received more than $300,000 in fundraising support from Gary Yu, a community organizer with alleged ties to organizations associated with the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front influence apparatus.
Wu’s administration is standing behind the leadership program as well. Dwork pointed to Boston’s large foreign-born population in defending the investment and rejected the criticism directed at City Hall.
“Boston will continue investing in our residents and protecting our community,” Dwork said, “regardless of inflammatory and misleading claims.”
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