BOSTON — Republican Governor candidate Mike Minogue is putting illegal immigration at the center of his pitch to voters, taking aim this week at a Beacon Hill sanctuary policy that would shield illegal immigrants from federal arrests at schools, hospitals, churches and courthouses.

The sanctuary measure advancing on Beacon Hill would bar Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from arresting illegal immigrants at "sensitive locations" — including schools, hospitals, courthouses, churches and childcare centers — even when those targeted have criminal records.

"In other words, illegal immigrants are being granted rights that ordinary Massachusetts citizens do not have," the Herald column read — a line Minogue quoted in full.

Minogue, the MassGOP-endorsed challenger, is positioning the race against Governor Maura Healey, whose administration has defended limits on state cooperation with ICE.

The Republican enters as a long-shot in a state Democrats have dominated for two decades. Minogue's law-and-order, illegal-immigration-first pitch is squarely aimed at the MAGA and conservative base he is counting on to deliver him the Republican nomination.