Axios Boston

June 02, 2025
It's Monday. Welcome to June!
☀️ Weather, 71°/51°.
Shoutout to Kellee P., Andrew W., Mckenzie S. and everyone else who scored 5/5 on last week's news quiz.
Today's newsletter is 879 words — a 3.5-minute read.
1 big thing: 💰 Int'l students — and their funds — at stake


International students contributed an estimated $3.9 billion to Massachusetts' economy during the 2023-24 school year.
Why it matters: Those students' futures — and that money — has come into question as the Trump administration restricts international student enrollment.
The latest: The State Department is halting student visa interviews and revoking visas for Chinese students as part of its broader immigration overhaul.
- A senior Trump administration official told Axios the latter applies to all Chinese nationals studying in the U.S. and noted the move coincides with trade negotiations between the two countries.
Context: This comes after the Trump administration abruptly revoked student visas nationwide and as it tries to bar Harvard from accepting international students.
- A judge halted President Trump's efforts to stop international student enrollment at Harvard — part of a broader fight between President Trump and the Ivy League school — while Harvard's lawsuit against the feds proceeds.
- But that reportedly hasn't stopped the Trump administration from instructing officials to increase scrutiny of international students seeking to go to Harvard.

By the numbers: Massachusetts hosted 82,000 international students during the 2023-24 school year, just over 7.3% of international students nationwide, per a report by NAFSA: Association of International Educators.
- The NAFSA report estimates their enrollment helped create nearly 36,000 jobs.
Zoom in: The latest move doesn't just take aim at Harvard, but all Massachusetts schools that have international students from China.
- Another report estimates 27% of those students are Chinese.
2. Boston remembers Burns
On this day 171 years ago, federal officials escorted a man in chains downtown to remove him from Massachusetts.
- Anthony Burns, then age 20, had escaped bondage in Virginia only to be forcefully returned.
Why it matters: Burns' arrest became a flashpoint for Boston at a time when the nation was starkly divided, and historical reenactments and discussions are keeping his legacy alive nearly two centuries later.
Between the lines: The nation was starkly divided over slavery.
- Depending on whom you asked, Burns was either kidnapped by a Virginia slave owner with the help of federal officials or returned to his rightful owner, per National Park Service archives.
- Anti-slavery activists debated whether the Fugitive Slave Act or a "higher law" should take precedence in a state that had abolished slavery decades earlier, says Shawn Quigley, lead ranger for the National Parks of Boston.
State of play: National Park Service rangers in Boston revive that debate in their town meeting programming, including a recent reenactment of a May 26, 1854, meeting anti-slavery activists held in Faneuil Hall.
- Rangers pass out cards and ask the audience to deliver various arguments, Quigley says.
- The latest event was at the Old South Meeting House, with support from Revolutionary Space, but the Burns events will resume weekly once a restoration project at Faneuil Hall wraps up later this month.
What they're saying: "The history of Faneuil Hall in Boston is not just the American Revolution, and it's a continuation of the American Revolution," Quigley tells Axios.
Flashback: While activists debated in Faneuil Hall, they got word that a group of radical abolitionists tried to break down the courthouse entrance to rescue Burns.
- The abolitionists failed, and a federal marshal was fatally shot.
- Burns lost his case in court, but the day he was removed from Boston surrounded by federal troops, more than 50,000 people in Boston protested — equivalent to nearly half of the city's population at the time, Quigley says.
Keep reading: Historical parallels
3. 🔙 BTMU: Late-night food trucks
🌃 Boston will select food vendors this week to run late-night food trucks at seven sites around the city, Mayor Michelle Wu announced this weekend.
Immigration agents detained an 18-year-old Milford High School student while he was heading to tennis practice on Saturday. (NBC Boston)
- Gov. Maura Healey blasted the feds for not communicating with local officials or answering questions about the boy's arrest.
🦆 The Brookline Town Meeting banned the sale of foie gras at restaurants. (Brookline.News)
4. 📆 Social Calendar
Monday, 6/2
📖 Writer Ron Chernow discusses his new biography, "Mark Twain," at First Parish Church in Cambridge, 7pm.
- Price: $15; $50 for admission and the book.
🌑 If you love burlesque and classic rock, catch "Dark Side of the Boob," a burlesque tribute to Pink Floyd at the Midway Cafe in Jamaica Plain, 8:30-10pm
Tuesday, 6/3
🎤 Halsey brings her "For My Last Trick" tour to the XFinity Center in Mansfield.
Wednesday, 6/4
💗 Bow Market in Somerville hosts its Big Singles Bash, 7-9pm.
- Price: $30
Thursday, 6/5
📖 Author Patricia Falvey discusses her historical fiction novel, "The Famine Orphans," at East End Books in the Seaport, 6pm.
- Price: $6.24 in person and virtual; $27.24 for a ticket with a copy of the book.
Friday, 6/6
🎤 Time Out Market hosts its "Drag Star Showdown," hosted by Big Atlas, 8-10pm.
- Want to compete? Apply here.
- Free admission, but RSVP encouraged.
Saturday and Sunday, 6/7 and 6/8
🖼️ Stop by Dorchester Open Studios this weekend at Humphreys Street Studios in Upham's Corner, 12-5pm.
5. Give back
We're so thankful to our members for their support of our work through their contribution to our newsroom.
If you join as an Axios Boston member, you'll get insider notes from the team, birthday shoutouts in the newsletter and other perks.
- Plus, you'll be part of our growth and ensure that our news is always free and accessible to the community.
We're grateful for your trust and continued reader
6. 🔎 Where's Townie?
Our beloved Townie took advantage of the sunny weather last week. Any guesses as to where she went?
Hint: This spot is named after a circle known for hellish traffic.
Know the answer? Reply to this email with your guess. Whoever answers first with the right answer gets a Townie tote and bragging rights.
Deehan had a great Dot Day.
Steph is warning you now they're gonna be mad obnoxious this Pride Month.
This newsletter was edited by Jeff Weiner.
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