Immigrant rights activists protest at Massachusetts State House demand Healey declare ICE rogue agency, create a reparations fund

Chris Lisinski

Dozens of immigrant rights activists on Thursday called on Beacon Hill to mount a stronger state response to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, urging Gov. Maura Healey to declare U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement a “rogue agency operating outside the bounds of the law.”

At a State House rally organized by the LUCE Immigrant Justice Network, attendees described fear spreading through communities with significant immigrant populations like Lynn as federal authorities ramp up detentions.

Jonathan Paz of Fuerza Waltham said his city has witnessed more than 40 arrests in the last two-plus weeks, describing Waltham as a “ghost town” where children are afraid to leave for school.

“We need our governor to step up to call it what it is: legalized racial profiling,” Paz said. “Governor Healey must acknowledge the truth: ICE is acting as a rogue agency operating outside the bounds of the law and accountability across the commonwealth, and especially in cities like Waltham. We’re seeing systemic abuses of due process and basic human rights.”

Healey has defended Massachusetts’s approach to immigration and criticized the Trump administration’s crackdown as violating his prior claims that enforcement would focus only on criminals.

Rally attendees laid out a list of requests for Healey, including creation of a “reparations fund” for communities affected by detention and deportation efforts and expansion of remote court access, which Paz said could prevent immigrants from needing to “walk into danger just to defend their rights.”