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As federal immigration enforcement activities take place across the nation, legislation aimed at boosting protections for immigrants in Massachusetts.
STATE HOUSE, BOSTON…..As federal immigration enforcement activities disrupt cities and towns across the nation, members of the Legislature’s Black and Latino Legislative Caucus unveiled legislation aimed at boosting protections for immigrant communities in Massachusetts.
The caucus announced it filed a bill (HD 5608) known as the “PROTECT Act.” – An Act promoting rule of law, oversight, trust, and equal constitutional treatment. It is sponsored by Reps. Andres Vargas of Haverhill and Judith Garcia of Chelsea and offers safeguards for court proceedings, aims to ensure consistent due process and empowers the state attorney general with enforcement authority.
The legislation is the culmination of almost a year of work by the caucus, including its Immigration Task Force established in August 2025, as well as engaging with stakeholders and immigrant families, Vargas said.
“I want to stress this more than anything, the main thing for the members behind me has been keeping in touch with the immigrant families most impacted by what is happening in our community,” Vargas said during a press conference with caucus members and other lawmakers. “We’re maintaining trust in our communities by keeping state and local law enforcement focused on public safety, not civil immigration enforcement.”
The bill bans law enforcement agents from asking about someone’s immigration status unless they are required by law, have written support from a judge or if it is important to prove a state crime – in that case documentation would be needed. It also restricts officers or employees of a law enforcement agency from sharing with a federal immigration agent non-public personal information and advanced notice of a person’s release date, time or location or help a transfer that is timed to allow federal civil immigration enforcement action.
The legislation bans any future creation or renewal of 287(g) agreements that allow local law enforcement to carry out federal immigration officers’ responsibilities. The bill includes a narrow exception for an agency seeking to work with federal enforcement agents. In that case, the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security is required to approve a state agency’s application to collaborate on serious criminal cases and there must be a public notice and comment period as well as consultation with the attorney general before a decision is made.
Civil immigration arrests in and around courthouses, as well as during direct travel to and from court, without a judicial warrant or a court order signed by a judge would be banned under the bill. Court officers and trial court employees would also not be allowed to grant civil enforcement access to nonpublic courthouse areas without a judge’s signed support and cannot initiate contact with immigration authorities to facilitate a civil arrest. Also, the bill requires the Executive Office of the Trial Court to produce quarterly, public reporting on known immigration enforcement activity in courthouse settings.
Garcia said there were more than 30 ICE incidents at the Chelsea Courthouse over a six-month period, including some in secure areas. Garcia noted that not everyone ICE seeks to arrest is in custody and federal agents may go to a courthouse looking for someone who is a victim, attending a hearing or giving testimony.
“What this bill does, and what Massachusetts clearly has the authority to do, is set the rules for what happens in and around our courthouses, so judges, court officers and staff can do their jobs,” Garcia said. “This matters because of who this affects: victims, witnesses, defendants, family members, anyone attending court for a safe matter. When people are afraid to go to court, cases cannot move forward and the system cannot do its job.”
The bill empowers the attorney general to go to court for rapid compliance orders when protections in the bill are violated.
Gladys Vega, CEO and president of La Colaborativa a Chelsea-based nonprofit, highlighted that residents are losing trust in law enforcement and some don’t seek help in emergencies over fears of being deported.
“This PROTECT bill highlights the fact that we all have to do better,” Vega said. “What’s happening nationally is basically the result of the broken immigration system. But the Commonwealth has always been better than that.”
Vargas said lawmakers have held “robust” meetings with Healey, House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka on the bill.
“We know that immigrants are disproportionately people of faith, hardworking people that provide so much to this country and to this community and to the state, and we know that we need to change this narrative around criminality for being black or brown or an immigrant,” he said.
Advocacy groups plan to hold a “Day of Action” at the State House Thursday calling on Healey and lawmakers to take immediate actions to protect local communities from ICE. Specifically, advocates are looking for lawmakers to block any operational assistance for ICE and ban 287(g) agreements.
On Monday, Healey demanded that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem resign after federal agents fatally shot Alex Pretti in Minneapolis Saturday. Pretti, a 37-year-old ICE nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital, was killed during an encounter with federal immigration agents amid a surge of Immigration Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol activity in Minnesota. He was the second U.S. citizen fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis this month; Renee Nicole Good was killed earlier during a separate encounter.
Massachusetts’ congressional delegation members have said ICE’s actions are dangerous and have stoked fear in communities. Senate Democrats have made clear they will oppose any appropriations legislation that includes DHS funding without significant reforms, a stance that has put pressure on party leaders and raised the prospect of a partial government shutdown when funding expires at the end of the month.
Healey’s fiscal year 2027 budget proposal recommends maintaining $5 million invested last year for the Massachusetts Access to Counsel Initiative, which provides legal representation for low-income immigrants affected by federal changes to immigration policies. Advocates have called for the fund to be renewed for long-term, permanent aid.
On Tuesday, Sen. Nick Collins and 68 lawmakers, including Spilka, sent a letter urging federal leaders to extend Temporary Protected Status, or TPS for the Haitian communities within the U.S. TPS is granted to those from countries facing conflict, natural disaster or other extraordinary conditions and the designation is set to expire Feb. 3.
U.S. Sen. Ed Markey and Reps. Ayanna Pressley and Seth Moulton have criticized the Trump administration’s move to end the protections as an estimated 4,700 Massachusetts residents would be at risk of deportation.
Terminating TPS for Haiti could cause more than 300,000 individuals across the U.S. to return to Haiti, a country which state and federal officials have acknowledged is not safe to travel to, lawmakers said in the letter addressed to Noem, U.S. Senate Majority leader John Thune and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.
“The sudden loss of legal status and work authorization would destabilize households, separate families, disrupt workplaces, and strain local schools, employers, and service providers,” lawmakers said in the letter. “Our health care system, in particular, relies heavily on the support, services, and expertise of thousands of Haitian health care professionals. From hospitals to health centers to home care, senior care, and long-term care, ending TPS for Haitian residents would create a major void that could not be filled.”
Katie Castellani is a reporter for State House News Service and State Affairs Pro Massachusetts. Reach her at kcastellani@statehousenews.com.
