 | By Kelly Garrity | COLD AS ICE — The detention of an 18-year-old Milford High School student who was on his way to volleyball practice over the weekend brought a wave of renewed outrage from local residents and Democratic lawmakers. Dozens gathered outside Milford Town Hall Sunday to protest the detention of Marcelo Gomes Da Silva, who friends said Sunday was undocumented and had arrived in the country as a child. People waved signs and chanted “Free Marcelo,” as members of his class marched from their graduation ceremony to the protest. Da Silva was tailed by federal immigration officials while driving to practice Saturday morning, his teammate, Yago Sampaio, told reporters Sunday. Sampaio, who was in the car with him, said ICE officers surrounded the car and questioned Da Silva about his age and immigration status. Lawyers are looking into filing a habeas corpus petition to challenge Da Silva’s detention, according to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette . Da Silva’s seizure reignited calls from some for state leaders to step up. “I think there's some things that could be done to make sure that people are safe,” Jillian Phillips, who works for a non-profit based in Worcester, told Playbook at the rally. “I understand that their hands are tied in terms of what the federal government is doing, but our schools and our state courthouses are state governed, and so they could do a lot more to put in protections in those spaces.” Shortly before the rally began, Gov. Maura Healey said she was “disturbed and outraged” by the incident and called on ICE to share more information. “Yet again, local officials and law enforcement have been left in the dark with no heads up and no answers to their questions,” Healey said in a statement. “I’m demanding that ICE provide immediate information about why he was arrested, where he is and how his due process is being protected.” But state lawmakers are in a logistical bind. Federal officials, “are not acting, from what I can discern, within the color of law,” state Sen. Becca Rausch, who joined the Sunday protest, told Playbook. “That lawlessness hurts the entire nation, not just people in Milford, not just people in Framingham, not just people in Somerville, not just people in Massachusetts,” Rausch said. “But because it's federally controlled, we cannot directly stop ICE. We just can't. But we also don't have to help them.” There’s also a political calculation for Healey. After laying into federal immigration officials last week following raids on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket that resulted in 40 arrests , Republican candidates vying to run against her next year pounced. ***SLOW ZONE SHORTSLEEVE WHO FAILED THE MBTA & COMMUTERS OPINES WITH LIES! BRAIN DEAD PROMOTER OF MBTA COMMUNITIES ACT TRUMPER MIKE KENNEALY IGNORES ICE GESTAPO TACTICS THAT ARE NATIONWIDE! GET A LIFE MAGA GOP! MAGA GOP SUPPORTING & PROMOTING LAWLESSNESS! KIDNAPPING A STUDENT ON THE STREET? THE KID'S 18 YEARS OLD, IN THE COUNTRY SINCE A CHILD...WHERE'S THE WARRANT? WHERE'S DUE PROCESS?
ICE GESTAPO MADE UNSUBSTANTIATED CLAIMS ON MARTHA'S VINEYARD & NANTUCKET, REFUSED TO PROVIDE NAMES & DETAILS! Former MBTA administrator Brian Shortsleeve accused Healey of “turning Massachusetts into a migrant magnet,” while former state housing secretary Mike Kennealy said the first-timer Democrat “can’t expect to be included in federal operations while she’s publicly bashing the federal government and attacking ICE.” At the federal level, Democrats can’t do much either, given their current lack of power in Congress. But messaging mattered, said Rep. Jake Auchincloss, who also attended the town hall protest. “We’ve demonstrated before that when we focus public attention on due process, not on as a question about immigration but as a question of freedom, then we can get results,” he said, pointing to Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish Tufts University graduate student who a judge order to be released after her detention sparked national scrutiny. GOOD MONDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS . Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Drop me a line: kgarrity@politico.com . TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll make an announcement about housing development on state-owned land at 10:30 a.m. in Boston. Healey attends a June Day ceremony at 2:30 p.m. on Boston Common. Rep. Ayanna Pressley hosts a roundtable following an uptick in ICE activity at 10:30 a.m. in East Boston. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu hosts a coffee hour at 10 a.m. in Roxbury, speaks at Boston’s Pride Month kickoff at 12:30 p.m. at City Hall and delivers remarks at the opening of a cafe in the Boston Children’s Museum at 1:45 p.m. in Fort Point.
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| ***MASS SAVE RESTRICTS/LIMITS THE ENERGY AUDITORS & LIMITS INSTALLERS OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY WORK! A FRIEND FOUND WAIT TIMES LENGTHY, ACCREDITED INSTALLERS INCOMPETENT & UNINFORMED, FINALLY GAVE UP!****
BIG ENERGY — State Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s office is looking into MassSave, the state’s energy efficiency program, after energy bills spiked earlier this year. While her office can’t launch a formal audit of the program, she does plan to issue a report, she said during an interview on WCVB’s “On the Record” that aired Sunday.
****CHINA, ONCE THE RIGHT WING EXCUSE FOR FAILING TO REDUCE U.S. ENERGY GUZZLING IS PROMOTING CHEAP CLEAN ENERGY & PROSPERING! CHINA LEADS IN HIGH SPEED RAIL & GRID UPGRADES! PER CAPITA ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN THE U.S. EXCEEDS CHINA!
U.S. DIRTY ENERGY & BIG POLLUTERS LIKE KOCH HAVE PREVENTED REASONABLE SOLUTIONS, WHILE TRUMP WALLOWS IN DIRTY ENERGY $$$****
FOLLOW THE MONEY! — Massachusetts bill on vehicle miles traveled in national spotlight by Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald: “A bill pending on Beacon Hill that looks to set a statewide vehicle miles traveled reduction goal as part of the decarbonization push has ignited national backlash, with critics calling it governmental overreach. Under the so-called Freedom to Move Act, an interagency coordinating council would be tasked with crafting a ‘whole-of-government plan’ to reduce reliance on personal vehicles and increase access to public transportation in the Bay State.” ***PAY WALL FOR THE BOSTON HERALD PROPAGANDA RAG SO DESPERATE FOR SUBSCRIBERS THEY'RE CHARGING $1 FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS!**** — Less than half of Massachusetts residents approve of Healey’s performance, poll finds by Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald: “Less than half of Massachusetts residents approve of Gov. Maura Healey’s performance as governor, and far fewer say she “deserves to be reelected” in 2026, according to a survey released by the University of New Hampshire this week. The two Republicans hoping to challenge Healey during the statewide general election next year immediately latched onto the results of the poll as proof that the Democrat’s popularity is slipping more than halfway through her first term in office.”
SLOW ZONE SHORTSLEEVE FAILED THE MBTA & TAXPAYERS! LOOK AT HIS HISTORY & THE MBTA DISASTERS HE LEFT! TRUMPER MIKE KENNEALY PROMOTED THE MBTA COMMUNITIES ACT & CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHY ITS IMPLEMENTATION IS CONTROVERSIAL! excerpts: But Massachusetts Democratic Party Chair Steve Kerrigan said Healey will be reelected because she is “focused on the issues that matter to most voters” in the state, like lowering the cost of living, building more housing, improving transportation and education, and standing up to Donald Trump “What is undeniable is that Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly reject Donald Trump and his disastrous agenda. Try as they might, Mike Kennealy and Brian Shortsleeve cannot hide from their support for Trump’s policies. Voters will reject their brand of failed MAGA Republican politics,” Kerrigan said in a statement to the Herald. An overwhelming 78% of Democrats think Healey is doing a good job while only 39% of independents — the largest group of voters in Massachusetts — and 5% of Republicans gave the governor a thumbs up, according to the poll. SLOW ZONE Brian Shortsleeve, a venture capitalist and former MBTA official running for governor as a Republican, said the survey is “devastating” for Healey because it shows voters have “clearly lost confidence in her.” “I don’t blame them,” he said in a statement. “She’s driven up spending, driven out jobs, and made life more expensive for everyone except illegal immigrants. I’ve led turnarounds in business and in state government, and I’m the Marine who can take Beacon Hill and fix Healey’s mess.” A spokesperson for Mike Kennealy, another Republican running for governor who previously served in Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration, said the University of New Hampshire survey validated their own internal polling from February that found Healey had a 45% approval rating. “Maura Healey is vulnerable and Mike Kennealy is the only Republican candidate that can defeat her,” the spokesperson, BLOVIATOR Logan Trupiano ALWAYS SUPPORTS LOSERS, said in a statement. CARPET BAGGER, CRYPTO SCAMMER WHO VOTED 3 TIMES IN 20 YEARS IS A PERENNIAL LIAR - EASILY DISPROVEN! "R" VOTERS REFUSE TO RESEARCH OR ASK QUESTIONS - VOTED FOR THIS CLOWN! HE EVEN SPEWED LIES ABOUT THE STEWARD BANKRUPTCY DISASTER! NOT SOMEONE WHO SHOULD BE IN CHARGE OF ANYTHING! John Deaton, who ran last year as a Republican against U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, has said he is considering challenging Markey next year. | | FROM THE HUB |
| — Boston wanted tax-exempt institutions to chip in more to help pay for city services. Under Trump, it’s looking unlikely. by Niki Griswold, The Boston Globe: “For decades, one of Boston’s points of pride has also posed a dilemma for City Hall: The same world-renowned universities, hospitals, and museums that make the city a global hub for innovation, culture, and education are exempt by state law from paying property taxes, which the city heavily relies on to fund its budget. Over the years, city officials have tried to get the most prominent tax-exempt institutions — Harvard, Boston University, Northeastern, and Massachusetts General Hospital, among others — to pony up more to offset the cost of city services they use. … Recently, however, President Trump’s siege on grants and other federal funding vital to many of those same institutions has scrambled those plans.”
| | THE RACE FOR CITY HALL |
| ***WHAT A WASTE OF TIME! THE NEWTON NEBBISH HAS NO EXPERIENCE, NO SOLUTIONS, NOTHING OF SUBSTANCE....ALWAYS A REGURGITATION ON HIS FAIRY TALES! NEVER MANAGED A LARGE ORGANIZATION LIKE CITY GOVERNMENT...HE DOESN'T EVEN COMPREHEND ITS WORKINGS!**** — If elected mayor, Kraft says he’d lean on philanthropy and improve community engagement by Eve Zuckoff, WBUR.
WORTH READING! — As Trump bears down on Boston, Mayor Wu says she'll keep the focus on city residents by Eve Zuckoff, WBUR TRUMP'S ATTACKS ON HARVARD & SLASHING RESEARCH FUNDING ARE CAUSING A BRAIN DRAIN OF THE BEST & BRIGHTEST WHO ARE BEING SOLICITED BY OTHER NATIONS & WILL HAVE DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES...READ PAUL KRUGMAN'S COMMENTS: Economist Paul Krugman says Boston's 'Jenga tower' economy teeters on Harvard
— Justin Hurst Announces Comeback Bid by Matt Szafranski, Western Mass Politics & Insight: “Although only the City Council and School Committee are on the ballot this year, Springfield’s midterm elections had been shaping up into a competitive affair. With over half of the ward seats on the Council contested and races likely across the School Committee, 2025 should not be a quiet year. However, no at-large Councilor is retiring and the odds of defenestrating an at-large incumbent are daunting. That may have changed on Friday. Former at-large City Councilor Justin Hurst pulled papers on Friday to reclaim a citywide seat on the Council.” — Agneta now running for Peabody mayor by Caroline Enos, The Salem News: “Rochelle Agneta has switched her campaign from one for councilor at-large to mayor. This is the second time the Salon CC owner and lifelong Peabody resident has run to lead the city, as she unsuccessfully faced six-term incumbent Ted Bettencourt in 2023.”
| | MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS |
| — ‘We’re not sanctuary cities’: WMass mayors push back at feds over DHS target list by Stephanie Barry, The Springfield Republican: “With the Department of Homeland Security now cracking down on ‘sanctuary jurisdictions,’ leaders in targeted cities in Western Massachusetts are urging the president to reconsider or, in some cases, to check his facts. Springfield, Amherst, Northampton and Holyoke made the new DHS ‘sanctuary jurisdiction’ list, as well as Hampshire, Franklin and Berkshire counties. After learning of the new list, local municipal leaders pushed back at the federal administration.” PAY WALL MUST READ! THIS DOCUMENTS THE OUTRAGEOUS ICE GESTAPO TACTICS - NO IDENTIFICATION! NO WARRANTS! NO INFORMATION AVAILABLE! PEOPLE DISAPPEAR! NO DUE PROCESS! MAGA GOP CLOWNS SLOW ZONE SHORTSLEEVE & TRUMPER MIKE KENNEALY ARE DEFENDING THIS LAWLESSNESS! — ICE impact still felt in New Bedford by Kevin G. Andrade, The New Bedford Light: “New Bedford continues to feel the effects of Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations that have so far detained at least 28 men, mostly from Guatemala, in the city since the inauguration of President Donald Trump.”
ICE GESTAPO USED A BATTERING RAM TO ENTER A HOME, NO WARRANT, NO IDENTIFICATION, POINTED GUNS AT CHILDREN EATING BREAKFAST, NO DUE PROCESS excerpts: According to two minors and one young adult present for the raid, agents dressed in military fatigues used a battering ram to enter their home without permission and did not show a warrant seeking either Garcia or Socop. The youth said agents pointed guns at them during the operation and only released them after they proved legal presence in the U.S. “We’re still working through what happened,” Leticia told The Light Wednesday in Spanish. As of Friday, a search through the ICE detainee locator found no results for Socop, though a Guatemalan named “José Garcia” was located at the Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield, Louisiana, a common holding sight for deportees just before their flights to Guatemala.
Two Guatemalans detained in early morning ICE raid in New BedfordThe Viall Street raid is one of at least three that occurred in New Bedford this week. Guatemalan immigrant in U.S. for 30 years arrested by federal agentsJuan Ramón Alegría Rodas is the 18th confirmed detainee in New Bedford since Jan. 20. He says he has been detained in a case of mistaken identity. excerpt: Rodas was arrested on Monday in the North End of New Bedford while on his way to pick up his daughter from school. On Tuesday, he called Patricia from the Plymouth County Correctional Facility, telling her that agents are mistakenly identifying him as José Chaclan Cienfuentes, a friend and former roommate whom Patricia said Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported in 2009. As a result, Rodas told Patricia, federal authorities are accusing Rodas of illegal re-entry after removal — a felony offense. But Patricia said Rodas has never left the U.S. after coming in the 1990s. | | DAY IN COURT |
| — Transit police chief: Public corruption ‘could run rampant’ in Suffolk, if not for feds by Shelley Murphy, The Boston Globe: “A day after a federal jury convicted a former MBTA Transit Police sergeant for helping falsify a report to coverup the beating of a homeless man, the department’s top official accused Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden of failing to pass ‘the smell test’ by previously dropping state charges against the officer. Transit Police Chief Kenneth Green said in a statement Friday that the department was grateful for the ‘unbiased and ethical handling’ of David Finnerty’s case by the US Attorney’s office, which obtained an indictment in August 2023 –10 months after Hayden dropped similar state charges citing new evidence that appeared to exonerate Finnerty.”
— A federal judge with Worcester roots has become a focus of Trump's anger by Brad Petrishen, Telegram & Gazette: “Longtime Worcester defense lawyer Brian E. Murphy, months into his tenure as a federal judge, is increasingly drawing the ire of President Donald Trump following rulings in a high-profile deportation case.” PAY WALL ARTICLE PUBLISHED BY USA TODAY ILLEGAL DEPORTATIONS, NO DUE PROCESS, DEFYING COURT ORDER - DEPORTATIONS TO SOUTH SUDAN! — A federal judge delivered a beatdown to the Trump administration, in support of WilmerHale by Jon Chesto, the Boston Globe.
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| ***MAGA GOP: TAX CUTS FOR WEALTHY, ENDLESS DEFICITS & SLASHED PROGRAMS: GUTTING MEDICAID, ELIMINATING FOOD PROGRAMS, SLASHING RESEARCH, CLOSING OFFICES, FIRING EMPLOYEES... 1 IN 5 AMERICANS ON MEDICAID!
THIS CAN'T PASS THE SENATE!
WARREN TAKES COLORADO — Sen. Elizabeth Warren was in Colorado over the weekend, headlining the Colorado Democratic Party’s annual fundraising dinner while stumping for Sen. John Hickenlooper . In the latest sign that Democrats think they can seize on the battle over what Republicans have dubbed the “big, beautiful bill,” during the midterms, Warren used the platform to come out swinging against the sweeping domestic policy package she said would be a “punch in the gut for working families.” More from Punchbowl
— Lawmakers blast Trump's targeting of foreign students by Christian M. Wade, The Eagle-Tribune: “Members of the state’s all-Democrat congressional delegation are urging the Trump administration to stop its ‘attack’ on foreign students attending Harvard University and other elite U.S. colleges, warning that the effort will cost jobs and hurt the economy. In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other members of the delegation said the agency’s push to revoke student visas for international students has created a “climate of fear” on college campuses that threatens to shut down a pipeline of job creators, scientists and entrepreneurs.”
PAY WALL June 2, 2025
Dean BakerRemember when Donald Trump was worried about our trade deficit? Yeah, that must have been days ago. But anyhow, as I and others have pointed out, the tuition and other expenses that foreign students pay to study at places like Harvard is a major source of foreign exchange earnings. Last year, we got more than $56 billion in revenue from these students. However, foreign students are not just a large current source of earnings; they have been a rapidly growing source. Here’s the picture since 2000. COUNTER PUNCH
STUDENTS TARGETED FOR MINOR CHARGES
| | ON CAMPUS |
| — WPI announces layoffs, cites rising costs, federal uncertainty by Jesse Collings, Telegram & Gazette: “Worcester Polytechnic Institute has laid off 24 employees as part of cost-cutting measures related to rising costs and uncertainty regarding Trump administration policies on funding higher education. The college, which with a total enrollment of 7,420 is the largest university in Worcester, announced in a letter to students and staff that cuts needed to be made in order to keep WPI on stable financial ground.”
PAY WALL
WPI lays off 24 employees, citing rising costs and federal uncertainty | | THE LOCAL ANGLE |
| — Billerica Select Board in flux as majority votes to name new chair by Peter Currier, The Lowell Sun: “The chaos on the Billerica Select Board continued Thursday afternoon after a third special meeting in two weeks resulted in a vote to reorganize the board officer positions, a move and meeting which original Chair Michael Rosa called ‘illegal.’ The reorganization was supported by board members Jillian Pavidis, John Burrows and Daniel Darris-O’Connor. Pavidis was made chair, Burrows vice chair and Darris-O’Connor secretary.” — Town Meeting complaints spill over to Select Board in Danvers by Buck Anderson, The Salem News: “Following Town Meeting’s decision not to act on citizens’ petitions that would have reversed the town’s efforts to comply with the MBTA Community Act, the issue reared its head the next night before the Select Board. Two of the petitions on the warrant would have canceled previous zoning measures the town had taken to ensure compliance with the state law. For Danvers, adjacent to communities with MBTA train service, it’s required to have zoning that allows multifamily housing by right in at least one district.” — Dracut Town Meeting to take up MBTA Communities multifamily zoning again by Prudence Brighton, The Lowell Sun: “Selectmen are in a tough spot as the June 2 Town Meeting approaches. They must convince voters that adopting an unpopular state law is imperative if the town wants to keep receiving millions of dollars in grant money and to avoid job losses. Selectman Tony Archinski explained the problem succinctly: ‘No means layoffs.’ He was paraphrasing signs that opponents have placed throughout town, reading ‘No means no.’”
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