How Trump's immigration policies target Mass.
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TODAY'S STARTING POINT
Immigration has been Donald Trump's top issue since his political career began. When Trump launched his first presidential run, he described Mexican migrants as 'rapists' and promised to build a wall on the US-Mexico border. During his first administration, he separated migrant families. And while campaigning for president last year, he pledged to toughen border enforcement and deport undocumented people en masse.
So far, Trump's second term has sought to make those promises real. Many of his actions — including trying to deport foreign students and allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to arrest people near schools and churches — have played out in Massachusetts. My Globe colleagues have just published a story showcasing
But in case you haven't been following every twist and turn, today's newsletter steps back further, offering a guide to how the administration's changes to immigration policy are affecting Massachusetts.
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When did immigration arrests ramp up?
Federal immigration agents have long detained people, but their efforts have expanded since Trump's second term began. In May, his administration announced a nationwide goal of arresting
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Why Massachusetts?
Many of the administration's efforts mirror what's happening across the country. But in some cases, it appears to be deliberately targeting Massachusetts.
In February, Tom Homan, Trump's border czar, vowed to bring 'hell' to Boston. The next month, congressional Republicans summoned Mayor Michelle Wu and other Democratic mayors to
What have the arrests looked like?
ICE has arrested people
What effect are the raids having?
The administration's new policies have sparked fear, sometimes regardless of a person's legal status. 'It's like we're living in an occupied country,' one Salvadoran immigrant living here legally
How do voters feel?
Massachusetts is a liberal state, and Trump's immigration policies are unsurprisingly unpopular here. Some residents have
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Polls also
Who's being detained?
Trump officials say they're targeting '
Will courts stop him?
Courts have temporarily blocked some of Trump's policies, like his attempt to bar foreign students from Harvard, but greenlit others for now. Last week, the Supreme Court let Trump's effort to end birthright citizenship proceed, although other legal challenges are ongoing. The court has also let Trump deport immigrants to countries they aren't from and revoke legal protections for Haitians, Cubans, Venezuelans, and Nicaraguans living in the US.
What's next?
Deportations seem likely to ramp up further. The spending bill the Senate passed yesterday includes tens of billions of dollars to build detention facilities, hire ICE agents and immigration judges, and more.
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Trump has also suggested he wants to strip US citizenship from naturalized Americans who were born abroad, potentially enabling him to deport them. Before touring a new detention facility in Florida yesterday, Trump
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4 Across:
87°
POINTS OF INTEREST
Trucks sit idle at a facility for the waste management company Republic Services.
David L Ryan/ Globe Staff
Hot trash:
More than 400 waste collection workers went on strike after their contract expired,
Antisemitism:
Murder and other violent crimes declined in Massachusetts last year, but reported
Cheaper bills:
Boston is steering most city residents into a more expensive electricity plan by default; few seem to know they could save money
Cost of living:
The Massachusetts Legislature's move to ban broker fees
Susan Collins:
The Maine Republican voted against Trump's tax cut bill even though it passed anyway. It may help her
Israel-Hamas war:
Israel agreed to a new proposal that would pause the fighting in Gaza for 60 days and release some Hamas-held hostages, Trump said, urging Hamas to take the deal. (
Transgender rights:
The University of Pennsylvania settled a case over trans athletes with the Trump administration, agreeing to bar trans people from female sports, strip a trans swimmer's titles, and apologize to athletes who competed against her. (
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Russia-Ukraine war:
The Trump administration halted shipments of air defense missiles and other munitions to Ukraine, citing dwindling US weapons stockpiles even as Russian missiles and drones target Ukrainian cities. (
USAID:
A Boston University researcher estimates that the Trump administration's cuts to the aid agency, which officially shut down yesterday, have
Free speech:
CBS News's parent company will pay $16 million to settle Trump's lawsuit over a '60 Minutes' interview with Kamala Harris. Executives saw the lawsuit as a hurdle to securing administration approval for a corporate merger. (
BESIDE THE POINT
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For your calendar:
Friday is the Fourth of July. Here are
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Bad trip:
Traveling with friends can bring you closer — or cause rifts. Here's how to preserve your friendship. (
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Good trips:
No car? No problem. Try these
🦈
Shark tale:
In a new Netflix documentary, a conservationist named Ocean Ramsey (yes, really) swims with the predatory fish. Some people aren't happy about it. (
❤️
It's a love story:
A woman on her way to a Museum of Science exhibit about Taylor Swift spotted a mystery couple getting engaged in the rain.
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Ride or die:
Biking, that classic rite of childhood fun, health, and independence, is on the decline. (
🎤
Band stand:
Opposing Trumpian politics 'is what Dropkick Murphys
Thanks for reading Starting Point.
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