Political talk in recent months has centered around violent ICE enforcement in Minnesota and growing party unrest on Capitol Hill. But New Englanders are now gearing up for battles with the federal government here in the Northeast.

In January, immigration agents arrested hundreds in Maine during “Operation Catch of the Day.” That led Boston Mayor Michelle Wu to issue an executive order barring federal immigration enforcement on city property without a court order, and more mayors throughout the commonwealth are joining in.

But Jerold Duquette, professor of political science at Central Connecticut State University, questions whether these efforts will really work.

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“We don’t have a useful historical precedent to judge how these mayors and local governments are doing what they’re doing,” Duquette said. “I would say that in order to be effective, they’re going to have to be willing to take some chances in terms of enforcing laws against federal agents.”

Duquette points to President Donald Trump’s recent statements about Republicans nationalizing elections as another opportunity for Massachusetts lawmakers to “stay flexible” in the fight against the White House’s erratic policymaking.

Meanwhile, for retired University of Massachusetts Boston professor Maurice Cunningham, a sliver of hope may be found in increasing collaboration between Democratic and Republican leaders.

He pointed to ongoing bipartisan discussions in the Massachusetts State House about enhanced immigrant protections, but called on national leaders to pick up the slack in the fight against President Trump’s racist Truth Social posts.

“Frankly, I am tired of people saying, ‘We’ve got to pray on this,’ when they have enormous power. A U.S. Senator has enormous power,” Cunningham said. “Let’s see you use some of that power.”

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Duquette and Cunningham further pointed to a growing pattern of power “consolidation” sweeping both local and national political arenas. Duquette pointed as an example to State Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s attempt to audit the government, which he says is unconstitutional.

But one national battle that could affect Massachusetts and its education sector most of all is Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s ideological campaign against Harvard.

“Hegseth has a thing, as does this administration — on the college level, on the K-12 level, on the grad school level — [about] anybody being exposed to ideas that might open their minds in some ways,” Cunningham said.

Duquette said this move by the Pentagon is indicative of a much larger issue.

“We have to notice that this little spat by the defense secretary fits into the pattern of power consolidation that we associate with fascism, right?” Duquette said. “Consolidating power for power’s sake is an affirmative strategy, and that fits very nicely with the sort of egocentric view of the world of the president of the United States.”

All of this, plus the closure — and quick re-opening — of El Paso’s airspace, Mass. Secretary of State William Galvin’s re-election bid and more, can be found on this week’s all-politics edition of “Under the Radar.”

Guests

  • Jerold Duquette, professor of political science, politics editor and senior contributor to The Massachusetts Law & Politics Project
  • Maurice “Mo” Cunningham, retired professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts Boston, author of “Dark Money and the Politics of School Privatization”

Stories discussed in this week’s roundtable