Throughout his presidential campaign, Trump vowed to initiate a mass deportation plan targeting illegal immigrants.
The governor of Massachusetts said her administration would not comply with President-elect Donald Trump’s future requests to deport illegal immigrants.
With the win on Tuesday, Trump became the first president to win two nonconsecutive terms in more than a century. As of Friday afternoon, he’s garnered more than 73.5 million votes and made inroads in multiple Democrat-controlled states.
In response, the governors of New Jersey, California, New York, Massachusetts, and Illinois—all Democrats—indicated they would try to defy policies initiated by Trump, including mass deportations of illegal immigrants and on LGBT-related issues. The governors did not outline any specific policy proposals beyond listing general policy ideas.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said in an MSNBC interview on Thursday that her state would not abide by the incoming Trump administration’s requests to deport illegal immigrants.
“No. Absolutely not,” she said when asked if the state police agency would help the Trump administration. “I do think it is important that we all recognize that there is going to be a lot of pressure on states and state officials. I can assure you we’re going to work hard to deliver.”
Massachusetts, which is thousands of miles from the U.S.–Mexico border, has been overwhelmed by illegal immigration in recent years, according to Healey’s administration. In September, her office sent officials to the border to warn that the state is out of space and cannot take any more people who illegally crossed the border into the United States.
Throughout his campaign, Trump vowed to initiate a mass deportation plan targeting illegal immigrants, while Vice President-elect JD Vance indicated that the administration would start by deporting about 1 million illegal aliens with criminal convictions.
As attorney general of Massachusetts, Healey filed multiple lawsuits against the first Trump administration, and she again suggested on Thursday that more legal action could be on the table.
“Some realities need to be noted and that is in 2016, we had a different situation in the courts, and I am sure there may be litigation ahead, there is a lot of other ways people are going to act and need to act for the sake of their states and residents,” she told MSNBC. “There’s regulatory authority and executive powers and the like, there’s legislation also within our state.”
As of publication time, Trump had not responded to Healey’s comment.
Outside of Massachusetts, several other Democratic governors indicated they would not comply with certain Trump policies.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday announced a special legislative session to “do everything necessary to ensure Californians have the support and resources they need to thrive.”
A statement from his office listed abortion, “immigrant protection,” the “climate crisis,” and LGBT issues as matters that the special session should address.
On Friday, Trump wrote on social media that the governor is “trying to KILL our Nation’s beautiful California,” adding that “more people are leaving than coming in” because of Newsom’s policies.
In the Golden State, Trump said, it is “impossible to build a reasonably priced car” and that “the unchecked and unbalanced homeless catastrophe [and] the cost of everything, in particular ‘groceries,’ is out of control.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul told a news conference that she would work with Trump on certain issues. However, she said that if the incoming administration tries to “harm New Yorkers or roll back their rights,” she would fight it “every step of the way.” She did not elaborate.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who campaigned for her position on an anti-Trump platform, was less conciliatory on Thursday and said she would still file lawsuits against the Trump administration.
Notably, her office brought a civil case against Trump and his company, resulting in a Manhattan judge fining him and his company more than $400 million. That case, which Trump has described as a form of election interference, is currently being appealed.
“My office has been preparing for several months because we’ve been here before, we’ve faced this challenge before, and we use the rule of law to fight back.”
Mike Davis, an ally and former lawyer for Trump, told conservative influencer Benny Johnson on Thursday that if James continues her “lawfare against” Trump, they’re “not messing around this time” and will charge her for conspiracy against rights.
The Epoch Times contacted Trump’s campaign for comment on Friday but received no reply by publication time.