The Department of Homeland Security confirmed it is reviewing the immigration status of former Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson after she was sentenced Friday in a corruption case.
"We are looking into this, yes," Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital when asked about a social media claim that the agency had opened a probe. The claim had been highlighted online by the account Libs of TikTok, which said a source had informed it of a DHS inquiry.
Anderson, who was born in Cape Verde and was elected to the council in 2021, pleaded guilty earlier this year in connection with what prosecutors described as a kickback scheme. Court filings and reporting said she gave a staff member $13,000 with the expectation that $7,000 would be returned to her; authorities have said at least one of the exchanges took place in a City Hall restroom. A federal judge called the conduct a breach of trust even if it might have been viewed as "low-hanging fruit."
At sentencing, Special Agent in Charge Ted Docks of the FBI's Boston division said Anderson had "let the power she wielded go to her head and routinely put herself over her constituents who trusted her to act on their behalf and for their benefit." He said the sentence holds her accountable for what prosecutors described as a culture of fraud and deceit.
Anderson has protested media coverage of the case, posting messages that asked reporters to "stop talking about me" and accusing some outlets of failing to report accurately on Black people. She told reporters during her 2021 post-election remarks in Boston's Nubian Square that she hoped to bridge divisions between Roxbury and the South End and described herself as a Muslim, an immigrant from Africa and someone who had once been "undocumented." She was described at the time as the first African immigrant elected to the council.
Legal filings and reporting do not connect Anderson's statements about her immigration history to the conduct charged in the corruption case. DHS did not provide additional details about the scope of its review when it confirmed it was looking into the matter.
The DHS confirmation comes amid an ongoing dispute between the Trump administration and Boston city officials over sanctuary policies and cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Massachusetts Attorney General Pam Bondi sent letters last month to several jurisdictions warning that local ordinances that limit cooperation with immigration authorities may conflict with federal law and that the federal government could sue or threaten to withhold funds. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has publicly criticized the federal action, saying the administration's threats cause fear in immigrant communities and disputing the federal legal position.
The federal review of Anderson's status was first flagged online and then addressed by DHS to reporters. Fox News Digital sought comment from the public defender listed for Anderson but did not receive an immediate response.
DHS has not indicated whether its review will result in enforcement action, and prosecutors said the sentencing addressed the corruption charges in federal court. The matter adds a novel element to the broader conversation about sanctuary policies and federal immigration enforcement in cities that have enacted limits on local cooperation with immigration authorities.