On Thursday, Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan, whose office covers Hampshire and Franklin counties, condemned actions by federal immigration enforcement officers across the nation. And he said his office would investigate and, if warranted, prosecute federal agents violating the rights of local residents.
NEPM’s Adam Frenier asked him what was the impetus of this statement and pledge for action.
David Sullivan, Northwestern District Attorney: Well, I think since the Trump administration started back in January of 2025, that there's been more and more threats to people's civil liberties and constitutional rights. And it was important to let people know that local law enforcement will not tolerate any unlawful actions by federal officials or state officials, for that matter. So, I wanted to be firm that the constitutional rights and civil liberties of our citizens in the Northwest District are going to be upheld.
Adam Frenier, NEPM: Has your office been looking into any Ice activities to this point, or had difficulties with federal immigration authorities?
We haven't had the cause to investigate anything in our local district, but this is going around the Commonwealth and around the country, and certainly we don't expect ICE to stop at anybody's borders. I think that they're very aggressive in their tactics and people should be aware of that.
And as far as the legal situation, does a district attorney's office, does the state, have the ability to charge federal authorities in this case?
Absolutely. If they violate a state criminal act, for example, an aggressive assault and battery, something along those lines, then we have the right to charge those officials and certainly make it through the state system and we'll see what would happen. And of course, it would be after a thorough investigation.
Yesterday [Thursday], Gov. Maura Healey unveiled legislation which she says is aimed at protecting Massachusetts residents from ICE. It would, among other things, prohibit ice from entering schools, courthouses, hospitals and places of worship, but it also banned the use of National Guard troops from other states without her permission. You were at this announcement. Your thoughts on all of this?
I'm 100% behind what she said and what she wants to accomplish. the fact that immigrants and citizens are afraid to go to health centers, they're afraid to go to their places of worship. They can't get access to justice. Victims don't even come forward with 911 calls when they've been domestically assaulted or sexually assaulted. These are very fundamental rights, and we need to protect our citizens and let people know.
But this goes back to when ICE was actually created. There were sensitive zones and all four of these categories: Access to justice, health care, education and houses of worship were all deemed sensitive areas where ICE would not go. And we need to get back to that. It's not creating anything new. It's just going back to the customs and protocols that we had going back to the start of ICE.
The governor said yesterday that there's even been situations where witnesses to crimes have been afraid to go to courthouses out of fear that Ice would be there. Is that a problem that your office has had to deal with?
Yes. Witnesses are afraid to come to court, and as much as we would like them to come to court, they still have apprehension. And that includes victims. I mean, it's really the right to justice for everybody, not just defendants, but for the victims of crime, that they have that opportunity to come to court in an uninhibited way, that they feel they can go forward with their case. And both victims and witnesses around the Commonwealth are being intimidated and fearful about going to court.
