Advocates Rally for Safe Communities Act as ICE Raids Stoke Fear in Massachusetts

BY SAM DRYSDALE

With enforcement of immigration laws surging in Massachusetts, a coalition of advocates rallied Wednesday and attached new urgency to the call for lawmakers to revive a long-stalled proposal that top legislative leaders have repeatedly dismissed.

The rally comes a week after federal officials announced the results of “Operation Patriot 2.0,” in which U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested 1,406 people statewide due to their immigration status between Sept. 4 and 30. ICE said just over 600, less than half, of those detained had been convicted of or charged with serious crimes. Nearly 300 had previously been ordered removed by immigration judges.

Supporters of the so-called Safe Communities Act (S 1681Track / H 2580Track) say the stepped-up raids have stoked fear in immigrant communities and underscore the need to shield local law enforcement from entanglement with federal immigration authorities. The bill, filed every term since at least 2017, would bar police and court officers from inquiring about immigration status and prohibit local cooperation with ICE unless required by law.

“I think there’s been a real awakening… all the sharing on social media of the outrages that have been committed by ICE have made abundantly clear there is a definite need to do what we can do to protect all our communities, and that local police shouldn’t be swept up into the enforcement of federal immigration laws,” said Frank Soults, spokesperson for 32BJ SEIU, a union representing largely immigrant workers.

Top Democrats on Beacon Hill have shown little appetite to advance the measure, which was filed at the start of the year but hasn’t been scheduled for a hearing by the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee.

Asked last month whether the increased ICE activity warranted movement for on the bill, House Speaker Ron Mariano said, “I don’t know if it’s a year for that.” 

He added that immigration enforcement is a federal matter, not one for state government to address. “There has to be a way for us to coexist without having to get into defining and limiting each other’s specific charges,” Mariano said.

Senate President Karen Spilka similarly downplayed the need for the legislation, arguing that much of what the bill proposes is already standard practice in Massachusetts. 

“Massachusetts has been clear that we will help federal ICE if and when there are criminal issues, criminals being arrested,” she said, noting concerns come when people are detained without clear justification or warrants.

The legislation was last sent to a study order in 2023, effectively killing its progress for the session.

Advocates argue the political winds have shifted, pointing to passage of a 2023 law enabling undocumented immigrants to apply for driver’s licenses, and $5 million the Legislature earmarked this year for undocumented immigrants to access legal services if arrested by ICE. 

“I think there has been a turning point. It’s taken a long time… but we’re hopeful,” said Soults. “We feel like the coalition is stronger now than ever.”

Supporters say recent ICE operations have hardened community support for the bill. Sen. Sal DiDomenico, whose district includes Everett and Chelsea, which have large immigrant populations, condemned ICE actions. 

“We have a rogue agency coming into our communities every single day of the week, breaking the law, causing terror,” he said. “Words don’t make a difference. Only action is what gets us to a place where we can bring dignity back to this country.”

Rep. Manny Cruz of Salem, the son of immigrants, said the State House “must” pass the bill this session and needs to take a stronger stance. 

“This house here,” he said, gesturing to the State House, “We have work to do. We need to ensure that we’re living up to our values and our commitment to be a place of equity and justice for all.”

When asked specifically if Gov. Maura Healey, Mariano and Spilka were doing enough to protect immigrants, Cruz said legislative leaders have met with the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus to discuss immigration enforcement. 

“I think that those meetings were well received,” he said. “What I’ll name is that we have more work to do as a coalition to ensure that we’re building support outside of the building,” calling for broader backing from law enforcement and local officials.

Federal officials, meanwhile, have defended their operations. ICE officials said Operation Patriot 2.0 focused on individuals who had violated immigration law, including 277 who had previously been ordered deported. 

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said the operation “exposed the grave consequences of sanctuary policies.”

Healey has repeatedly said Massachusetts is not a sanctuary state, but the Trump administration has targeted Boston as one of 35 “sanctuary jurisdictions” that they say impede the enforcement of federal immigration laws.

“Every illegal alien we arrested during the operation was breaking U.S. immigration law, and hundreds were violent criminals who should never have been allowed to roam freely in our communities,” Lyons said. “Local politicians are responsible for protecting their constituents, so they need to step up and end irresponsible sanctuary policies.”

ICE Boston’s acting Field Office Director David Wesling said those arrested include “murderers, rapists, drug traffickers, child sex predators and members of violent transnational criminal gangs.”

Still, the bill’s backers say raids are sweeping up too many people who pose no threat, while fostering distrust between immigrant communities and local law enforcement — something they believe the bill would fix.

“As a state, as local municipalities, we have to stand up and be willing to say that we will not lend a hand to ICE to tear apart our communities,” Cruz said. “Instead, we will send a message of true public safety, that regardless of your documentation status, that you can come to our local police department and report a crime without the fear of being deported.”