Worcester's ICE storm

Politico

27-05-2025

ON THIN ICE — As federal immigration enforcement actions ramp up in Massachusetts, so is the debate over what level of coordination there should be between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and local police. A deportation operation in Worcester earlier this month threw the discourse into sharp relief.
ICYMI: Two people were arrested by Worcester police after a crowd gathered as ICE officers were attempting to take into custody a woman they said was in the country illegally.
The kerfuffle spurred outrage from immigration advocates and hardliners alike. Protesters r allied outside Worcester City Hall, calling on police to do more to shield residents from ICE, while Worcester's police union and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin took aim at Worcester City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj, who stood in front of the woman in an effort to keep officials from taking her. Days later, Stephen Miller, one of President Donald Trump's top deputies, was weighing in on X.
The uproar prompted Worcester City Manager Eric Batista to sign an executive order 'reaffirming how the Worcester police interacts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.' The order prevents city employees from participating in a federal operation 'solely for the enforcement of federal civil immigration laws, except in response to a request to assist with support services deemed necessary to ensure officer safety.'
But not everyone is satisfied. The measure, critics pointed out, doesn't require local police to verify that federal officials have the authority to carry out an arrest — by determining they have a warrant, for example.
'Worcester police should be involved in protecting the peace in the city of Worcester and enforcing the laws of Massachusetts. I don't think that they should be helping ICE do things that are constitutionally questionable at best,' said Miles Gresham, policy director for Neighbor to Neighbor Massachusetts, a nonprofit that sent members to the scene as the ICE operation was taking place.
Some are calling on more action from the state's top Democrats. At a rally over the weekend, roughly 100 protesters marched from Boston City Hall to Boston Common, urging Gov. Maura Healey to take a stronger stand against ICE. And a petition circulated by the LUCE Immigrant Justice Network of Massachusetts asks the governor to declare ICE 'a rogue federal agency operating outside the law.'
But others, including Republicans challenging Healey for her seat, have been making the case for more coordination between federal and state officials. A spate of Republican-sponsored bills on Beacon Hill would do just that, though they face long odds of passing without support from Democrats who hold a supermajority in the Legislature.
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TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey and state and local officials hold a press conference on impacts to Medicaid in the megabill at 1:45 p.m. in Revere. State Auditor Diana DiZoglio attends Get Konnected's speed mentoring event at 5:30 p.m. in Boston. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announces the city's summer safety plan at 10 a.m. in Dorchester and hosts a luncheon for Boston Public Schools valedictorians at 12:30 p.m. in Fenway.
DATELINE BEACON HILL
— DEP delays electric vehicle sales requirements for two years by Colin A. Young, State House News Service: 'The Healey administration said Friday it will not enforce minimum electric vehicle sales requirements for model years 2026 and 2027, administratively taking a step that lawmakers have repeated sought to force legislatively. Under the Advanced Clean Cars II regulation that Massachusetts adopted following California's lead in 2023, vehicle manufacturers are supposed to produce and make available for sale a gradually-increasing percentage of zero-emission vehicles starting at 35% in model year 2026, rising to 43% in model year 2027 and eventually hitting 100% in model year 2035 and beyond.'
WATCH — Massachusetts Secretary of Veterans' Services Jon Santiago talks funding cuts, homeless veterans by Ed Harding and Sharman Sacchetti, WCVB.
FROM THE HUB
— Boston launches review of school bus safety following collision death of 5-year-old by Carrie Jung, WBUR: 'Boston city leaders said they are launching an independent review into the safety policies and performance of Transdev, the school bus contractor for Boston Public Schools. The move comes nearly a month after a bus operated by a Transdev driver struck and killed kindergarten student Lens Joseph during drop-off after school.'
FROM HARVARD YARD
— Harvard foreign students feel like 'poker chips,' consider transfer after Trump attacks by Juliet Schulman-Hall, MassLive.
— In extremely rare move, Harvard revokes tenure and cuts ties with star business professor by Kirk Carapezza, GBH News: 'Harvard University has stripped a world-renowned scholar of her tenure status. The university's top governing board, the Harvard Corporation, decided this month to revoke Francesca Gino's tenure and end her employment at Harvard Business School. Gino, who was celebrated for her research on honesty and ethical behavior, had faced scathing allegations of academic misconduct and fraud.'
THE RACE FOR CITY HALL
— Kraft-aligned super PAC pours $1.4 million into attacks on Wu in mayoral race by Matt Stout, The Boston Globe: 'The super PAC backing Josh Kraft in his challenge to Mayor Michelle Wu is dropping more than $1.4 million on ads, billboards, and text messages attacking the incumbent Democrat, marking the first significant infusion of outside cash into a race that's already splattered with mud-slinging. The spending, disclosed in a late Friday filing, is an extraordinary sum for an outside group to drop so early in the citywide contest. The timing of the push — and willingness of deep-pocketed donors to bankroll it — suggests voters' televisions and social media feeds could be inundated with political spots through the summer and fall.'
Mayor Michelle Wu's campaign is out with a scathing statement in response this morning, accusing the Krafts of 'trying to buy' the election 'by trashing our city with millions of dollars of negative attack ads.'
'This is an unprecedented early start to outside money raining down on a Boston city election as Kraft runs the most negative mayoral campaign in generations,' the statement said.
DAY IN COURT
— Bar advocates to halt indigent defense work over stagnant pay by Aaron Curtis, The Lowell Sun: 'According to Massachusetts bar advocates, without a long-overdue raise, the justice system is headed for some serious trouble. In 2004, bar advocates — private attorneys paid by the state to represent clients unable to afford legal counsel — stopped taking new cases in protest of low pay. This move ultimately influenced lawmakers to raise the district court hourly rate to $50, as highlighted on baimnar.com, a website created by attorney Todd Siegel advocating for increased compensation for attorneys who represent indigent clients. Bar advocates say that their wages have barely budged in the two decades since. … Now, history appears to be repeating itself as bar advocates, citing stagnant wages and legislative inaction, once again prepare to refuse new cases starting Tuesday.'
FROM THE DELEGATION
— Massachusetts Rep. Trahan's 'Les Miz' moment on Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' by John L. Micek, MassLive: 'In the early hours of last Thursday morning, as U.S. House Republicans got ready to send President Donald Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' over to the Senate, a Massachusetts lawmaker stepped into the breach, all Henry V-style, to try to stop it. That lawmaker, U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan, D-3rd District, offered what's known as a 'Motion to Recommit,' a parliamentary Hail Mary that would have sent the bill back to committee rather than allowing the eventual 215-214 vote to approve it.'
FROM THE 413
— Clean energy measures, $7.68M budget coming to Shutesbury Town Meeting on Saturday by Scott Merzbach, Daily Hampshire Gazette: 'Prioritizing purchase of zero-emission vehicles, supporting municipal decarbonization by 2050 and opting into the state's specialized energy code, while enhancing the existing safe community bylaw and adopting a town spending plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1, are among articles voters will decide at annual Town Meeting Saturday.'
— Budget cuts hours for some Easthampton employees by Alexa Lewis, Daily Hampshire Gazette: 'Although the city's proposed fiscal 2026 budget avoids direct cuts to municipal employee salaries, six workers are facing reduced hours and a hiring freeze is being put in place. According to Mayor Nicole LaChapelle, some municipal employees 'had extended hours,' meaning the city approved working hours for some positions beyond their typical 34-hour workweek. The hourly adjustment heading into the next fiscal year, she said, is an act of 'resetting' back to the 'base workweek' for these positions. However, the citywide hiring freeze is an act of abundant caution, following the lead of the Healey administration amid fiscal uncertainty.'
— Amid conversations about public health and accessibility in downtown Pittsfield, homeless people still lack reliable access to public restrooms and showers by Claire O'Callahan, The Berkshire Eagle.
THE LOCAL ANGLE
— Narrow timeline creates strain on New Bedford's elections by Colin Hogan, The New Bedford Light: 'Calendars, packets, papers, and check-lists cover the tables inside New Bedford's elections office. Five months will pass before city elections take place this fall, on Oct. 7 and Nov. 4, but already this office is humming — and it's maybe a little more tense than usual. … Because the City Council rejected election officials' advice — including [New Bedford Election Commission Chair Manuel] DeBrito's, his staff's, and the Secretary of the Commonwealth's — New Bedford will be the only city in Massachusetts to host its preliminary election in October this year. That leaves a short window for voters to return mail-in ballots for the Nov. 4 general election.'
— Trump's DOJ retracts investigations of 8 police departments. What about Worcester? by Brad Petrishen, Telegram & Gazette: 'President Donald Trump's Justice Department has announced it is 'retracting' its findings of constitutional violations by most of the police departments it cited under President Joe Biden. However Worcester's findings, for now, remain intact.'
— More details emerge about health director's exit by Jim Sullivan, The Newburyport Daily News: 'As the city looks to replace former Health Director Laura Vlasuk, now running Malden's health and human services department, more details are surfacing as to why she decided to leave and how the news was shared with local leaders. After more than three years leading Newburyport's health department, Vlasuk left her role on May 14, roughly a week after the Malden City Council unanimously approved her appointment on May 5.'
— Assistant to the mayor and city social worker positions being considered by Attleboro city council by Rhianwen Watkins, The Sun Chronicle.
— Brockton's downtown homeless shelter moves to Manley Street by Chris Helms, The Brockton Enterprise.
— 'Gulf of Weymouth' shirts raise $7,000 for new veterans' memorial by Jessica Trufant, The Patriot Ledger.
HEARD 'ROUND THE BUBBLAH
TRANSITIONS — Joanne Landers will be the new vice president of student affairs and Austin Gilliland has been tapped to serve as vice president of academic affairs at Northern Essex Community College.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Melissa Ludtke, state Rep. Steven Owens, Andrew Fowler and Brian Choquet. Happy belated to Sabrina Correa, who celebrated Monday.