The human costs of the current administration’s mass deportation agenda continue to mount. 46 people have died in ICE custody since Trump took office, 17 from medical negligence. The administration has shifted tactics after the violence in Minneapolis – but deportations continue unabated – often with local help. ICE has secured 1,651 formal 287(g) agreements in 39 states that deputize state and local personnel as ICE agents, and informal involvement in deportations by police and sheriffs is rampant. Here in MA, ICE arrested over 600 people in or around courthouses in 2025.
We can’t let this continue. Massachusetts leaders must act now to protect Massachusetts communities.
On March 26 the Massachusetts House of Representatives voted 134-21 to pass the PROTECT Act, a bill developed and championed by the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus to protect immigrant communities and the rule of law. This bill would, among other things:
- limit police and sheriff involvement in civil immigration enforcement, including 287(g), and bar the use of state and local resources for same;
- prohibit civil arrests inside courthouses absent a judicial warrant;
- create transparency and legal protections for immigrants held in ICE custody in Massachusetts; and
- require the governor to issue guidance on how to handle interactions with ICE for local law enforcement, school districts, and other public and private organizations.
Now the PROTECT Act moves to the Senate. Please use this tool to urge your State Senator to pass the strongest possible Protect Act!