Gov. Healey has signed an executive order intended to ban new 287(g) immigration enforcement agreements "unless there is a public safety need," prohibit ICE from making civil arrests in non-public areas of state facilities, and ban the use of state property for immigration enforcement staging.
Healey also announced she is filing legislation that her office says is designed "to keep ICE out of courthouses, schools, child care programs, hospitals and churches; make it unlawful for another state to deploy its National Guard in Massachusetts without the Governor’s permission; and allow parents to pre-arrange guardianship for their children in case they are detained or deported."
The governor's office called the measures "the most comprehensive effort in the country to protect against ICE activity in sensitive locations." President Trump's administration over the past year has gone on a deportation offensive, riling immigrant communities, splitting up families and drawing backlash over ICE agent tactics.
"Over the past year, President Trump has sent federal agents into communities, cities and states around the country, and what we have seen week after week, month after month, are federal agents instigating antagonizing and, yes, causing violence in communities," Healey said at a press conference at the State House. "People have been killed. Others have been shot. We see mothers and fathers ripped out of cars and from the arms of their children. United States citizens have been stopped, arrested and detained."
"Our action today is actually in line with what was long established federal policy," Healey said. "It used to be that federal agents and partners in law enforcement recognized those sensitive spaces, and they, in fact, used to designate them as sensitive locations that were protected from enforcement action."
She continued, "The Trump administration threw out that common sense policy at the start, on the very first day of taking office, in fact, and made the way for what has been extreme and downright un-American tactics. Their goal has been to intimidate, to instill fear, and that's what they've done, and we're here today to restore trust in government."
The executive order states that Massachusetts is home to over 1.2 million immigrants "who are workers, parents, caregivers, business owners, and essential contributors to the Commonwealth’s economy and civic life." It further states that the Massachusetts Constitution "guarantees that every resident is afforded equal treatment under the law, regardless of national origin or immigration status."
Healey's immigration legislation was filed not as a standalone bill but as attachments to a $411 million budget bill that her office says includes "time sensitive" appropriations for the Legislature to consider. That bill also speaks to Joint Hazard Incident Response Team work associated with the upcoming World Cup and Tall Ships.
"Our action today is actually in line with what was long established federal policy," Healey said. "It used to be that federal agents and partners in law enforcement recognized those sensitive spaces, and they, in fact, used to designate them as sensitive locations that were protected from enforcement action."
She continued, "The Trump administration threw out that common sense policy at the start, on the very first day of taking office, in fact, and made the way for what has been extreme and downright un-American tactics. Their goal has been to intimidate, to instill fear, and that's what they've done, and we're here today to restore trust in government."
The executive order states that Massachusetts is home to over 1.2 million immigrants "who are workers, parents, caregivers, business owners, and essential contributors to the Commonwealth’s economy and civic life." It further states that the Massachusetts Constitution "guarantees that every resident is afforded equal treatment under the law, regardless of national origin or immigration status."
Healey's immigration legislation was filed not as a standalone bill but as attachments to a $411 million budget bill that her office says includes "time sensitive" appropriations for the Legislature to consider. That bill also speaks to Joint Hazard Incident Response Team work associated with the upcoming World Cup and Tall Ships.
This is a developing story.
