Overview
- Advocates said they will back three priorities rather than specific bills: bar local assistance to ICE, prohibit deputizing police as immigration agents, and fund legal counsel for immigrants facing deportation.
- The refiled Safe Communities Act, sponsored by Sens. Jamie Eldridge and Liz Miranda and Reps. Priscila Sousa and Manny Cruz, would restrict civil immigration enforcement by police and court officials and require consent before ICE interviews in custody.
- Organizers seek a statewide ban on 287(g) agreements that deputize local officers, noting ICE began fully reimbursing salaries and benefits for trained 287(g) officers on Oct. 1.
- The state Department of Correction is the only Massachusetts agency with a 287(g) agreement, according to advocates, while Plymouth County holds a separate federal contract to detain immigrants.
- Lawmakers set aside $5 million for immigrant counseling in the fiscal 2026 budget, and advocates plan to request $10 million next year to establish a sustained Immigrant Legal Defense Fund, as Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell backs Boston’s Trust Act in a new amicus brief.