Healey files legislation to keep ICE agents out of courthouses, schools, hospitals, churches
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey filed legislation Thursday to keep U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) out of courthouses, schools, child care programs, hospitals and churches, in what her administration says is the most comprehensive effort in the country to protect against ICE activity in sensitive locations.
The legislation also makes it unlawful for another state to deploy its National Guard in Massachusetts without the Governor’s permission, and allows parents to pre-arrange guardianship for their children in case they are detained or deported.
Healey said she also signed an Executive Order “…prohibiting the state from entering into any new 287(g) agreements unless there is a public safety need, prohibiting ICE from making civil arrests in non-public areas of state facilities, and prohibiting the use of state property for immigration enforcement staging.”
On January 20, the Trump Administration rescinded a policy in which the Department of Homeland Security maintained “protected areas” that required ICE to refrain from immigration enforcement actions in sensitive locations, including hospitals, houses of worship, courts, and school programs. Healey said the loss of this policy is what her new legislation aims to restore.
“It used to be that federal agents and partners in law enforcement recognized those sensitive spaces,” said Healey. “And they in fact used to designate them as ‘sensitive’ spaces that were protected from enforcement action.”
Healey said ICE’s presence at courthouses, “creates confusion and chaos and is deterring witnesses, victims and litigants from coming to court. It has resulted in the dismissal of charges and release of defendants.”
She also said school enrollment has declined “dramatically” this year in districts with high populations of immigrant students. Health care providers have also been reporting that more immigrant families are skipping medical appointments, delaying care, or canceling their health insurance because they fear being detained by ICE.
Dozens of other state and local leaders voiced their support for the legislation, including Attorney General Andrea Campbell and Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan.
