‘I will not be intimidated by these words of hate’: Boston City Councilor responds to voicemail received by her office

Newly-elected Boston City Councilor Julia Mejia has gone public with a voicemail received by her office on January 17.

The audio from the voicemail is accompanied by pictures and videos of Mejia, her family, civil rights movements in U.S. history and her work in the community.

On her YouTube page where the video was posted, she said “It’s time to speak up and get out of the shades of hate. Let’s call people into the conversation and leave no one out.”

In the voicemail, the caller called her a criminal and threatened to call President Trump’s office and federal authorities. They then go on to say the councilor is supporting an agenda that supports people who break immigration laws and evade taxes.

The caller also talked about Mejia’s mother who immigrated to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic on a visa that she overstayed but is now a legal citizen.

In an interview with Boston 25 after her election, Mejia said “My mom was undocumented for a period of time, I know what it’s like to live in fear. We need to do a lot better as a city to make people feel safe, and if we send our kids to schools, we need to know that they’re gonna come back home and there’s not going to be police officers or ICE officers waiting for them.”

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Mejia became the first Afro-Latina to serve as a councilor by winning by just one vote in a close recount.

Mejia has worked with undocumented families in Boston to help members of her community stay safe and feel represented.

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