Happy Thursday!

• One think tank projects how much deportations will cost Mass. taxpayers, and Mayor Michelle Wu's White Stadium plan survives a lengthy court battle.

🌧️ Today's weather: Chance of rain showers, with a high of 86 and a low of 65.

🎂 Happy birthday to our member Marion Davis!

Today's newsletter is 1,072 words — a 4-minute read.

Massachusetts taxpayers will end up paying over $3,200 each on average for President Trump's mass deportation push, according to a new calculator tool from the Economic Policy Institute.

• And taxpayers in one town will pay tenfold.

Why it matters: The estimate fuels debate over whether billions of federal dollars devoted to deportations should instead fund other public priorities such as food assistance, health care or housing.

Context: The $268.9 billion the Trump administration is slated to spend in Trump's second term on deportations is funded by a mix of money from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, budget reconciliation bills, regular appropriations and other repurposed funds.

• DHS previously told Axios that the government spends roughly $18,000 per non-voluntary deportation.

By the numbers: EPI estimates Massachusetts taxpayers altogether will end up paying nearly $8.8 billion for deportations.

• The left-leaning think tank suggests that could instead fund over 3.7 million additional SNAP recipients during the remaining 2.5 years of Trump's term, per National Priorities Project data.
• What else could it fund instead? Public housing for 300,000 households, Medicaid for over 287,000 or medical care for over 126,000 veterans.

1 stunning stat: Deportation enforcement would cost Weston taxpayers over $34,000 each on average.

• The closest cost per taxpayer was Wellesley at over $22,000, followed by Newton at nearly $12,000.

What they're saying: "I don't think people realize how much money is being spent on these mass deportations," Gordon Lafer, a professor at the University of Oregon's Labor Education and Research Center and research associate at EPI, tells Axios.

• "In almost every place in the country, there are a lot of people who are struggling to not be hungry, to have affordable housing, kids are in overcrowded classrooms, people don't have health insurance, and those are the things that matter most."

The other side: A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson blamed the Biden administration in a statement to Axios for ignoring the costs of illegal immigration and said the administration's self-deportation program saves taxpayers money.

• The spokesperson encouraged undocumented immigrants to use the CBP Home app, saying the U.S. offers a free flight and a $2,600 stipend to self-deport.

Between the lines: EPI estimated each area's share of federal income taxes to calculate how much taxpayers in each state, county and city would contribute toward deportation spending.

• Many undocumented immigrants also pay taxes, but it's unclear how many are captured in the IRS data cited by EPI.
• Massachusetts is home to an estimated 151,000 undocumented immigrants, per data from mid-2023 compiled by the American Immigration Council, which estimates they pay $929 million in federal taxes.

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The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled Boston can continue building White Stadium in Franklin Park.

Why it matters: It’s a major victory for Mayor Michelle Wu, who has pursued the $325 million redevelopment project with Boston Unity Soccer Partners.

• The organization, which own the professional women's soccer team Boston Legacy FC, is set to split the cost of the project with taxpayers.

State of play: The SJC sided with the city over the Emerald Necklace Conservancy and Franklin Park Defenders for two reasons.

• It said neither organization has a "cognizable individual interest" in the trust that built and owns the stadium. So they don’t have legal standing to challenge the project.
• Second, the court ruled that the land's use has evolved since 1883, when it was taken by eminent domain to be used as a public park. State laws from 1947 and 1950 effectively named the stadium a school department facility overseen by the school committee.

What they’re saying: "Today’s clear and unanimous decision from the state’s highest court confirms that Boston’s student-athletes, park lovers and community will fully benefit from this landmark investment in our future, without further delay,” Wu said in a statement.

The other side: Karen Mauney-Brodek, the conservancy’s president, disagreed with the ruling and urged the city to consider a "smaller, but fully public project."

• A fully public alternative would be more affordable, wouldn't displace Boston Public Schools football programs and others who use the playing field and "would be significantly more sustainable long term," Mauney-Brodek said.

Go deeper

🗳️ Longtime Boston official Kerry Jordan will become the city's new elections chief starting Sept. 8, a week after the state primary. (WCVB)

🏆 Nine Massachusetts startup hubs made Time magazine's inaugural list of the best incubators and accelerators in the U.S., including MassChallenge (No. 2) and Harvard Innovation Labs (No. 6). (TIME/BBJ)

• The Engine (MIT), Greentown Labs, MITdesignX, Nucleate, MassRobotics, LearnLaunch Fund + Accelerator and M2D2 (UMass Lowell) also made the list.
• Techstars, a New York-based accelerator with a Boston presence, topped the list.

Authorities found Worcester Police Officer Kurt Solomon dead Tuesday, and they say his wife is a suspect. (CBS Boston)

• Karen Solomon, founder of a mental health organization for first responders, is wanted for questioning.

🎓 Two former Biden administration leaders — former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas and former Commerce Secretary Gina M. Raimondo — will join the Institute of Politics this fall as fellows. (Crimson)

EBO Grocery's owners decided not to renew their lease at 110 Meridian in East Boston, citing shifting priorities with their newer businesses, per their Instagram page.

• The store will be closed between Aug. 23 and Sept. 1 for an oyster shucking event in Italy.
• Then it'll reopen until late September.

🍻 Session House, a new restaurant by Esteemed Hospitality, will replace the shuttered Scobie's Cafe & Bar in Dorchester this fall.

• Session House will feature "elevated" pub fare and live music, including traditional Irish music, per the Dorchester Reporter.

🇮🇹 The chef-owner of the Dorchester restaurant Via Cannuccia plans to open a coffee shop and evening wine bar called Bottega Cannuccia this winter, per the Boston Globe.

She's baaaaack. Do you know where Townie went?

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• The first person to guess correctly gets bragging rights.

Deehan can't stop watching these AI timelapse videos of urban development.

Steph just finished "When Language Left Me."

This newsletter was edited by Jeff Weiner.