An ICE surge into Massachusetts would be a risky gambit for President Donald Trump, who would face unanimous resistance from political leaders and push back from voters in the bluest of blue states.

Trump is already dealing with a crisis in Minnesota and can ill afford another potentially violent confrontation in the Bay State, where leaders like Boston Mayor Michelle Wu have vowed to fight against any mass ICE intervention.

Is the timing right for another major ICE operation in feisty liberal Massachusetts, which is getting ready to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the country?

Despite that, reports continue to circulate that immigration enforcement is preparing for an aggressive crackdown in Massachusetts, where a shipment of shiny new unmarked SUVs at the ICE facility in Burlington has worried local pro-immigrant activists.

Immigration czar Tom Homan and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons have also made threats to come to Massachusetts in an operation against the state’s large illegal immigrant community and Democratic leaders like Wu and Gov. Maura Healey.

Wu has said the city and local police are already making plans in case Trump makes Massachusetts the next immigration target. She is working to ensure that local law enforcement does not cooperate with ICE’s operation.

“Unfortunately now, on top of the regular rhythm of what we have to discuss, we now have to think about planning for the unthinkable scenarios the federal government might bring,” Wu told WBUR’s Tiziana Dearing.

Other political leaders have vowed to resist ICE as well. In the wake of the deadly Minneapolis shooting, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley is pushing for ICE to be abolished.

Those kinds of comments have caught the attention of the Trump administration but is the president really willing to risk more of his political capital in a confrontation with Democrat-dominated Massachusetts?

Trump is already facing a midterm election that ticks ever closer and could erode his power if Democrats take the House or Senate or both.

He knows there would be another major outcry if he attempts to move on the Bay State or even threaten to arrest people like Wu if she is leading the resistance.

The last large-scale ICE involvement in Massachusetts came in March 2025, resulting in hundreds of arrests of criminal illegal immigrants.

Homan has promised to bring “hell” to Boston, a line that Wu used to highlight the city’s fighting spirit against ICE.

Wu has challenged Homan to come to Boston and promised to question him under oath.

“This is a beautiful, diverse, incredible city,” Wu said last August, the last time ICE threatened to conduct an operation in Boston. “This administration needs to stop attacking cities to hide its own failures…We know how to take care of our neighbors here in Boston without the interference, coercion, intimidation or bullying from the federal government.”