A pair of Massachusetts cities are at risk of losing federal funding that has supported safety equipment for police officers, food delivery for senior citizens and paid for detectives investigating drug crime.
All of it is on the line Thursday, when attorneys representing Somerville and Chelsea will appear in U.S. District Court in Boston to argue their funding streams should be preserved while they contest the Trump administration’s attempt to withhold the money over their local immigration laws.
The two densely populated cities north of Boston each receive funding for school districts with high percentages of low-income students. Chelsea said funding cuts may force it to fire police officers, including those stationed in schools. Somerville said it could be forced to cut homelessness prevention services and efforts to reduce underage tobacco and alcohol use…