A slippery immigration slope

Politico

2 days ago

BORDER LINES — Republicans point to immigration as one of the forces driving the gains they made in state elections last year.
GOP candidates for governor are betting Bay Staters' frustration over the state's migrant and family shelter crises will extend to immigration issues more broadly amid a wave of federal immigration action in Massachusetts.
Look at last week: When Gov. Maura Healey criticized ICE after dozens of people were arrested on Martha's Vineyard last week, both former MBTA executive Brian Shortsleeve and Mike Kennealy, the state's former housing and economic development secretary, used the moment to hit Healey for failing to work with the federal government on immigration.
Shortsleeve accused Healey of 'turning Massachusetts into a migrant magnet,' while Kennealy said Healey 'can't expect to be included in federal operations while she's publicly bashing the federal government and attacking ICE.'
And after federal officials announced Monday they had seized 1,500 people in Massachusetts during a flurry of arrests they dubbed 'Operation Patriot,' Shortsleeve said Healey's 'warped sense of justice has made the commonwealth less affordable and less safe for our people,' and urged the governor to 'apologize to every taxpayer and every victim.'
Healey, meanwhile, has taken a more critical tone on the White House's immigration agenda in recent days, while maintaining she supports the detention of people with criminal backgrounds. The operation on the islands was 'disturbing,' she said last week.
'The fear and the uncertainty, the anxiety that is created in these communities, I think, is totally unnecessary,' she said.
On Monday, she called for the release of an undocumented 18-year-old Milford High School student who was detained over the weekend on his way to volleyball practice (Federal officials said Monday the student's father was the intended target.). Progressives and immigration advocates, however, have called on her to take things a step further and declare ICE 'a rogue federal agency operating outside the law.'
A MassInc poll from March found that 13 percent of Massachusetts voters believe immigration is the single biggest issue facing state government (Only housing and cost of living ranked higher.).
But some of the more high-profile ICE detentions — like the student in Milford — have prompted serious backlash locally and among Democratic electeds and advocates that could swing the immigration issue back in Healey's favor ahead of the 2026 election.
GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Drop me a line: [e-mail].
TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey attends the grand opening of Amazon's robotics fulfillment center at 9:45 a.m. in Charlton. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll speaks at a Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education luncheon at 1:15 p.m. in Boston. Healey and Driscoll testify on the administration's higher education infrastructure bill at 1:45 p.m. at the State House. Secretary of State Bill Galvin announces upcoming events marking the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill at 11 a.m. in Charlestown. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu speaks at the Legacy Business Award Ceremony at 5:30 p.m. in the South End.
DATELINE BEACON HILL
— Healey makes state-owned properties available to developers to build new housing by Robert Goulston, GBH News: 'The Healey-Driscoll administration is offering hundreds of acres of state-owned properties to developers with the hope of creating more than 3,500 new housing units.'
EYES ON 2026
MONEY MATTERS — GOP gubernatorial hopeful Brian Shortsleeve raised $416,027 since entering the governor's race, his campaign announced Monday. That's more than the roughly $130,000 his sole declared Republican competitor, Mike Kennealy, reported in his first month on the campaign trail and more than the roughly $404,000 Gov. Maura Healey raised in March (her biggest haul since taking office).
MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS
— Emergency order blocks ICE from transferring Milford student out of state by Esteban Bustillos and Sarah Betancourt, GBH News: 'A federal judge issued an emergency order Sunday blocking federal immigration authorities from transferring an 18-year-old Milford High School student of Brazilian nationality out of Massachusetts for at least 72 hours, court records show. The order came on the heels of a habeas corpus petition, in which his attorneys challenged the constitutionality of Marcelo Gomes Da Silva's detention.'
— Amid crackdown fears, Massachusetts. undocumented immigrants seem to be still getting driver's licenses by Chris Burrell, GBH News: 'Massachusetts is still seeing strong demand for driver's licenses, a trend some policy analysts are linking to undocumented immigrants choosing a path to legal driving that could protect them amid a heightened federal immigration crackdown. Demand for adults' standard licenses and permits surged two summers ago when a new state law went into effect: Anyone, regardless of immigration status, can get the documents to legally drive in Massachusetts.'
— In East Boston, wives of men arrested by ICE tell their stories by Miriam Wasser, WBUR: 'While federal immigration officials touted the nearly 1,500 arrests they made in Massachusetts during May, three women whose husbands had been taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement sat in front of a crowded room in an East Boston community center and described — at times through tears — what the experience has been like for their families. The event was part of a community roundtable event convened by Rep. Ayanna Pressley to amplify the faces and stories behind the government's arrest statistics.'
— Worcester father of 4-month-old deported after ICE 'violated his rights,' attorney says by Adam Bass, MassLive: 'The Worcester father of a 4-month-old child was deported to Fortaleza, Brazil, after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials signed a deportation authorization document in his name without his permission, according to his attorney.'
THE RACE FOR CITY HALL
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Easthampton City Councilor At-Large Felicia Jadczak and School Committee Member Meghan Ward Harvey are endorsing Lindsi Sekula for mayor in Easthampton. Sekula's 'track record in City Hall show a leader who listens, builds meaningful connections, and shows up for all of Easthampton,' Jadczak said in a statement.
FROM THE 413
— Springfield officials support legislation to automatically seal criminal records by Jeanette DeForge, The Springfield Republican: 'Saying people shouldn't be punished twice for the same crime, city officials are pushing for legislation to automatically seal records for those who committed nonviolent crimes three to seven years after conviction. The Clean Slate Initiative, which is now being debated in the Legislature's Joint Committee on the Judiciary, would automatically seal records of misdemeanor crimes three years after conviction and after seven years for a felony.'
THE LOCAL ANGLE
— How Everett mayor's campaign aide got hired as a $550-an-hour city spokesman by Stephanie Ebbert, The Boston Globe: 'When he hired his campaign spokesman as a communications consultant for the city two years ago, Mayor Carlo DeMaria explained it as an act of necessity, not favoritism: George Regan's firm was the only one that had responded to the city's solicitation. What he didn't explain was how little time the city gave the other would-be bidders.'
— Worcester activist critical of city manager faces one-year city hall ban by Adam Bass, MassLive: 'A Worcester resident and activist has been banned from using city hall for one year, according to a letter from City Manager Eric D. Batista. On May 27, Batista issued a no-trespassing order to David Webb, a Worcester resident who has been a frequent critic of Batista's administration — accusing the city manager and his staff of not being transparent or truthful to the city's residents.'
— Fall River Public Schools pays $134K to restore data in cyberattack by Emily Scherny and Dan Medeiros, The Herald News: 'The 'cybersecurity incident' discovered on April 7 that left Fall River Public Schools without access to their internal network and internet service 'for the rest of the week,' and was eventually fully restored — to the tune of $134,278 in out-of-pocket costs. Superintendent Dr. Tracy Curley has not yet specified the nature of the cyberattack, but during an April 8 joint meeting of the City Council and School Committee, she alerted city officials that they did not have insurance to mitigate the fallout of what happened.'
— Norton school board OKs new cellphone policy for high school by Madison Dunphy, The Sun Chronicle: 'The school committee has approved a policy to require high school students to put their cellphones in a rack or hanging pocket holder when they enter a classroom and keep them there until class is over. The committee approved the student handbook policy revision for cellphones and similar personal electronic devices at their meeting last week.'
MEDIA MATTERS
— GBH lays off 6 percent of staff due to funding cuts, rising costs and stagnant revenues by Aidan Ryan, The Boston Globe: 'GBH is laying off 45 employees, 6 percent of its staff, across more than a dozen departments due to financial challenges that include federal grants cut by the Trump administration. The cuts come less than a month after GBH laid off nine staff members at WORLD Channel, a television channel that focused on global news, programs, and documentaries. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, in consultation with GBH, cut funding for the channel because it wasn't sustainable.'
HEARD 'ROUND THE BUBBLAH
TRANSITIONS — Dr. Paul Manuel will be the new principal of Boston College High School starting Aug. 1. He currently is a member of the faculty in Georgetown University's government department.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Eric S. Rosengren, Sean McFate and Eric Farmer.