Over the last month, Gov. Maura Healey noticeably amped up her criticism of federal immigration agents in scrums with reporters and public speeches. That drew fire from her left and right, but especially pointed criticism from progressives who said action should follow.
Behind the scenes, Healey administration officials were prepping for just that. Work was already underway before immigration officers killed two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and it came as support for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continued to collapse in public polling.
Healey rolled out the results on Thursday inside the State House: An executive order and a legislative package taking direct aim at ICE. On the steps of the Grand Staircase behind her were district attorneys, union leaders, clergy and Democratic lawmakers.
“Today, I’m filing legislation to keep ICE out of our schools, daycares, other child care centers, churches, hospitals, health clinics and our courthouses,” she said. That was Applause Line No. 1.
Applause Line No. 2: “I’m signing an executive order today to protect our state and state resources from ICE, that includes prohibiting ICE from making civil arrests in non-public spaces of state buildings.” (That also includes a prohibition of the use of state property for immigration enforcement staging.)
Senate President Karen Spilka, an Ashland Democrat who stood next to Healey and has compared the atmosphere of fear created by ICE to 1930s Germany and Poland, pledged swift action on the legislation, which is attached to a fiscal year 2026 supplemental budget bill that mostly deals with the Group Insurance Commission and making it unlawful for another state to deploy its National Guard in Massachusetts without the permission of the governor.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons told the Boston Herald that Healey’s “attacks on ICE are reckless… Instead of engaging directly with the agency on its mission, training and legal authorities, she’s opted for political theater.”
But politics – the way in which policies are implemented – is often theater. Few know that better than Lyons’ boss, President Trump, a former reality TV star. For Healey, trashing Trump and opposing ICE make for popular politics in blue Massachusetts, much like her decoupling of the state’s vaccine recommendations from the federal ones pushed by vaccine skeptic RFK Jr.
Healey’s GOP opponents in Massachusetts have appeared to be apprehensive of the stage. They stayed largely quiet or evasive about ICE and the reports of agents pointing guns at citizens, pulling people out of cars and threatening to put them on “domestic terrorist” lists. The lack of a full-throated ICE defense drew some angry jabbering from the online right, and on Thursday, the candidates criticized Healey for turning Massachusetts into a “sanctuary state” with her actions.
But the GOP primary is a stage with a smaller audience than the general election: Roughly 270,000 voted in the 2022 primary. It’s also all playing out as a political realignment is in progress: Democrats are embracing states’ rights for protection from a hostile Washington while Republicans are abandoning free market principles for tariffs and government stakes in companies, to name a few issues.
That means regardless of opinions on either side, this fall promises to be quite the show.
What are your thoughts on Gov. Healey’s executive order, which takes effect immediately, and the legislation? Send them here: gin@massterlist.com.
HAPPENING TODAY
9:30 | Boston Indicators holds a virtual briefing on its newly released report, “An Early Look at the MBTA Communities Permitting Pipeline.” | Register
11:00 | The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Women’s Network hosts its 2026 Pinnacle Awards, honoring nine women professionals for achievements in business, government, and management. Speakers include Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Chamber President James Rooney, Argus CEO Caitlin Dodge, and WBZ-TV anchor Lisa Hughes. | Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport, 450 Summer St., Boston
12:00 | Gov. Maura Healey is on Boston Public Radio’s “Ask the Governor” segment. | GBH 89.7
12:30 | Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll offers remarks at Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce annual meeting. | Indian Pond Country Club, 60 Country Club Way, Kingston
POLITICAL INTEL
Representatives of self-driving car company Waymo were in the State House earlier this month, meeting with aides to legislative leaders as they push for a bill that allows the legalization and regulation of autonomous vehicles. The meetings come as Waymo cars, with a driver aboard, resumed mapping Boston streets, this time for the winter weather. Waymo, which is owned by Google parent Alphabet, is opposed by a group of unions, including the Teamsters, who cite potential job losses and safety concerns….
…Speaking of the Teamsters: Several unions under that umbrella voted to endorse Seth Moulton’s Senate primary run against incumbent Ed Markey. Teamsters Local 25, the largest representing 13,000 members in Greater Boston and homebase for national president Sean O’Brien, is among them. “When our members at Republic Services were on strike fighting for their jobs and the future of their families, Seth Moulton was right there with them every step of the way. Seth understands that good jobs, fair pay, and respect for working people are the foundation of a strong economy,” said Local 25’s Thomas Mari. Other locals included ones in Lynnfield, New Bedford, Milford, Quincy, Worcester, and Springfield. MASSterList previously reported Dorchester-based Local 122, broke off to endorse Markey, as they had done with Kamala Harris while the national union stayed neutral….
….The $40 million documentary about First Lady Melania Trump is coming in for online mockery as advance ticket sales in Boston and elsewhere show few takers. But that’s not surprising if we’re talking about cities like Boston that have historically voted for the Democratic presidential ticket. Presales are “falling fairly strictly along red/blue lines,” Puck’s Matthew Belloni wrote on Jan. 23, noting that Amazon has spent an additional $35 million promoting it. The MassGOP is trying to play its part, with a private screening tonight at a theater in Marlborough. Its Twitter account promoting the screening said tickets were “expected to sell out quickly.” A MassGOP spokesperson said the theater holds 100 and “we expect a great showing,” but didn’t say how many tickets have been sold….
…It was a big week for Matt Gorzkowicz, Gov. Maura Healey’s budget chief, as the administration unveiled their fiscal 2027 budget proposal, with a bottom line of $63.4 billion. The 53-year-old got his start on Beacon Hill and in government finance as an aide to Barre Sen. Robert Wetmore in 1995, meaning he’s been around state budgets longer than some State House reporters have been alive. The state’s budget total back then was around $17 billion.
FROM BEACON HILL
CRONYISM ALLEGATIONS: Marcel Vernon, the former head of the Mass. Convention Center Authority, alleged the quasi-public agency has poor financial management practices on top of cronyism, which is harming its competitiveness in the tourism sector. – Boston Business Journal
MBTA COMMUNITIES: Attorney General Andrea Campbell sued nine towns over their non-compliance with the MBTA Communities Act, which requires zoning for multifamily housing. Out of the 177 communities that fall under the law, 165 are in compliance. – State House News Service
LITERACY REFORM: Senators unanimously passed an early literacy reform bill, following House action on another version of the bill. The bill is supported by the Boston branch of the NAACP and opposed by the state teachers union. – Boston Globe
NEWS NEXT DOOR
CHIPS DOWN: Nearly 50 people will lose their jobs with the shutdown of the Cape Cod potato chip plant in Hyannis. The owner of the brand, Campbell’s Co., says it is consolidating potato chip production and the plant only makes 4% of the total annual volume of the brand’s products. – Boston Business Journal
ACTIVIST SENTENCED: A federal judge sentenced activist Monica Cannon-Grant to home confinement and four years probation after she pleaded guilty to a variety of fraud, ranging from mortgage, tax, and wire fraud to Covid-19 fraud. – Universal Hub
MBTA FRUSTRATIONS: As MBTA riders expressed frustration over service in the aftermath of last weekend’s big snowstorm, GM Phil Eng asked for patience, acknowledging the system’s struggles. – Boston Globe
NEW BEDFORD PLANNING: City planners in New Bedford are undertaking zoning overhaul, cutting down permitting requirements and setting up “transit-oriented” districts close to the new MBTA stations on the South Coast Rail line. – New Bedford Light
MORE HEADLINES
Parole denied for man convicted in Springfield killing
Worcester councilors advance controversial tax break plan for apartment project
State rep gets gym named after him
THE SUNDAY SHOWS
@ ISSUE SIT DOWN: NBC 10. The show starts a one-month hiatus due to NBC’s coverage of the Super Bowl and the Olympics.
ON THE RECORD: WCVB. The show will be preempted by weather this week and next week due to the weather and New England Patriots coverage. The next show is due to air Feb. 15.