Last week’s enactment of the reconciliation bill clearly demonstrated why we need to fight so hard to get humane laws passed in the Massachusetts State House. The regressive policies contained within the package are a direct assault on the health of our families, our communities, and our nation, all while funneling billions of federal dollars towards inhumane immigration enforcement practices. This budget increase not only makes ICE the largest federal law enforcement agency, its budget is now larger than all other federal law enforcement agencies combined. In fact, ICE now has a larger budget than the vast majority of the world’s militaries, and that does not include funding for Customs and Border Protection. The administration had previously set an arbitrary quota of 3,000 civil immigration arrests per day, which directly led to the chaos and violence we saw in Los Angeles. Now, with a massive infusion of funds for enforcement, the administration is looking to increase that quota to 7,000 civil immigration arrests per day. With these resources, we could see the violence and intimidation of LA happen in cities all across the country.
Some good news: with the federal administration committed to the mass detention and deportation of immigrants, our state legislature recently voted to include funding for immigration legal services in the FY26 annual budget. This funding will help protect immigrants who live, work and pay taxes in Massachusetts.
Why this crucial funding matters: There is no right to a government-paid lawyer in immigration court. Immigrants who cannot afford a lawyer must navigate our complex immigration system alone. Immigrants are 5x more likely to win relief from deportation if they are represented by counsel. Detained immigrants with a lawyer are 10x more likely.
What you can do: Please email your State Representative and/or State Senator to thank them for supporting $5M in funding for immigration legal services. This funding allows low-income immigrants to access a public-funded program to provide no-cost immigration legal services to Massachusetts residents at imminent risk of deportation, especially those held in federal immigration detention. Use this link to access our Thank you Letter campaign – it takes less than 1 minute!
But wait! There’s more . . . While this budget victory is important, it is still a relatively small measure, especially considering that the federal government has committed over $100 billion to aggressive deportation policy. We need more longstanding protections in place – so ask your legislator to cosponsor the Immigrant Legal Defense Act! You can use this link to send a quick letter.