Summary

• Criminal immigration charges in Massachusetts jumped 530% in one year — from 22 to 139 cases
• Governor Healey demands NH Governor Ayotte block a planned 400-bed ICE detention center in Merrimack
• Healey calls ICE tactics "horrific"; U.S. Attorney Foley says states that cooperate avoid "chaos in the streets"

BOSTON — As criminal immigration charges in Massachusetts have surged more than 500% in just one year, Governor Maura Healey is ramping up opposition to federal enforcement — demanding New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte block a planned 400-bed ICE detention center just across the border.

The clash highlights a growing tension in New England: federal immigration enforcement is accelerating rapidly, while Massachusetts' Democratic leadership works to slow it down.

The Numbers

U.S. Attorney Leah Foley revealed the scale of the shift at a press roundtable Thursday. Her office charged 139 individuals with criminal immigration offenses in 2025 — up from just 22 the year before.

That's a 530% increase in one year.

Habeas petitions — requests for custody review by detained immigrants — exploded even more dramatically: from 7 in 2024 to 850 in 2025, a 12,000% spike that Foley acknowledged has strained her defensive litigation unit.

"The immigration criminal work has been spread across the office," Foley said, noting her team has been operating with fewer staff and prosecutors despite the surge.

Healey's Counterpunch

On the same day Foley was touting enforcement numbers, Healey released a statement blasting ICE and calling on Ayotte to oppose the planned detention facility in Merrimack, New Hampshire.

Governor Healey's official statement released Friday demanding New Hampshire block the proposed ICE facility

"ICE is shooting people dead on the street. Mothers have been ripped from cars and separated from children. U.S. Citizens have been stopped, detained and even killed," Healey wrote. "None of this makes people safer – it makes us all less safe."

She continued: "Now ICE wants to build a new 400-bed facility in Southern New Hampshire to supercharge their horrific deportation tactics in our communities. This will impact people in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and across our region. Enough is enough."

The facility, planned for a 43-acre former warehouse at 50 Robert Milligan Parkway, was confirmed through documents obtained by the New Hampshire ACLU. It's one of several large-scale detention centers ICE is planning nationwide.

"I am demanding that Governor Ayotte do everything in her power to block a new ICE facility in Southern New Hampshire," Healey concluded.

Two Governors, Two Approaches

The Healey-Ayotte divide mirrors the broader regional split on immigration.

Ayotte signed a law in 2025 — now in effect — banning sanctuary city policies in New Hampshire. She's been the only New England governor to publicly support President Trump's immigration crackdown.

Her office has expressed frustration with ICE over a lack of communication about the Merrimack facility, but hasn't opposed the project outright.

Healey, meanwhile, has made opposition to ICE enforcement a centerpiece of her administration. She's clashed publicly with U.S. Attorney Foley, who has called out state Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu for statements Foley says were "not truthful."

"Just as I agree, everyone should be trying to calm the waters and talk about what is really going on and who we are arresting and why we are arresting them," Foley said Thursday, "instead of just making it appear that this is just an assault of immigration."

What Comes Next

Foley said her office will continue to prioritize immigration enforcement, but also plans to target public benefits fraud and online extremist groups in the coming year.

She noted that states and cities that cooperate with ICE tend to avoid the "friction and chaos in the streets" seen in places like Minnesota — a not-so-subtle warning to Massachusetts officials.

Whether Healey's pressure campaign moves Ayotte remains to be seen. For now, the numbers tell the story: federal immigration enforcement in Massachusetts isn't slowing down. The question is whether state leaders will work with it — or against it.