Beacon Hill’s Inaction Leaves Immigrant Communities Unprotected
Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) is concerned by the Massachusetts Legislature’s lack of urgency in enacting legislation to address increasingly aggressive and unlawful federal immigration enforcement.
While Governor Healey signed an Executive Order barring the use of state property for immigration enforcement, the Commonwealth and its residents remain highly vulnerable. Legislation is urgently needed to codify key protections against federal overreach.
In particular, the PROTECT Act, which is currently pending before the Legislature, would:
- Ban warrantless immigration arrests in and around courthouses, which is critical for public safety. As the bill underscores, “fear of civil immigration enforcement at courthouses chills reporting of crime and attendance at court proceedings, undermines access to justice, and disrupts the orderly administration of the courts.” LCR has long advocated for greater protections in these sensitive locations.
- Restrict the disclosure of sensitive personal information to federal immigration authorities. The bill would protect personal identifying information, including release date, time, or location, to prevent Commonwealth officials from colluding with ICE. This disentanglement is critical to stop using scarce state resources to do ICE’s bidding.
- Prohibit law enforcement officials from inquiring into the immigration status of witnesses and victims. This is essential to bringing witnesses and victims out of the shadows. All witnesses and victims, regardless of immigration status, should feel safe interacting with law enforcement.
- Create consistency and transparency for state agencies to support and certify immigration petitions when victims of criminal activity and human trafficking seek humanitarian relief. This support and certification are essential elements to promote trust and to help make victims whole.
Governor Healey has also filed legislation that would bar ICE from sensitive locations, including courthouses.
Despite the urgency of the current moment, none of these legislative proposals appears to be moving forward in any kind of expedited manner. Without legislative action on these vital measures, community protections are incomplete and vulnerable to reversal. Massachusetts residents need a clear and expedited timeline for legislative action.
Massachusetts has long positioned itself as a leader in civil rights. Anything short of prioritizing a legislative response to ICE abuses is cruel for the families and communities in urgent need of protection. At a time when federal immigration officials are acting with impunity and lawlessness, the Commonwealth cannot afford delay. Protecting access to justice, public safety, and constitutional rights demands decisive action now.