As I noted in a blogpost over the weekend, the political fallout from the surge of (not entirely) underage Central American illegal immigrants across the Lower Rio Grande is spreading across the nation. And over some considerable distance: it’s 2,210 miles from McAllen, Texas, on the border, to Swampscott, Mass., the home of Republican governor candidate Charlie Baker, who according to the Boston Herald has been criticizing Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick’s handling of “the planeloads of illegal immigrants” arriving in the Bay State.

Massachusetts county sheriffs have been raising questions about seven secret flights into the state; a Patrick administration spokesman says the state government has “no role” in agreements between the sheriffs and the federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.