A new Massachusetts law restricts ICE arrests in courthouses, schools and health care facilities

Amid the Trump administration’s tougher immigration policies and the expansion of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations across several states, Massachusetts has enacted a law that places broader restrictions on certain ICE enforcement activities. Gov. Maura Healey signed the legislation on Wednesday, barring civil immigration arrests without a judicial warrant in courthouses, public schools, child care centers and health care facilities. The state has also limited new forms of cooperation with ICE.

The bill had been approved by the Massachusetts House and Senate last week. Healey said the measure “provides the strongest protections in the country against abuses by ICE, including keeping them out of courthouses, schools and hospitals.”

In addition to expanding protections against civil immigration arrests without a judicial warrant in those locations, the law prohibits new agreements allowing state and local officials to perform certain federal immigration enforcement functions. However, it preserves the existing partnership between the Massachusetts Department of Correction and ICE.

The legislation also codifies the precedent established by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s 2017 decision in Lunn v. Commonwealth. That ruling found that state officials cannot hold a person beyond the time they would otherwise be released solely at the request of federal immigration authorities.

The measure builds on other steps previously taken by the Healey administration to restrict certain ICE operations within the state. Months ago, the governor signed Executive Order No. 650, which prohibits civil immigration arrests by ICE in nonpublic areas of state facilities unless authorized by a valid judicial warrant. The order also bars executive branch agencies from entering into so-called 287(g) agreements, which allow local authorities to assist with certain federal immigration enforcement functions, and prohibits state facilities from being used as staging areas, processing locations or operational bases for ICE.

As part of that effort, the Healey administration also issued guidance for schools, child care providers, colleges and universities, health care facilities, and places of worship on how to respond to encounters with ICE agents. In addition, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell released a guide titled Know Your Rights, outlining the legal framework governing ICE actions and explaining immigrants’ rights during those encounters.

During the legislative debate, state Sen. Cindy Friedman said the proposal was grounded in the belief that “all Massachusetts residents deserve equal protection under both the United States constitution and Massachusetts constitution regardless of where they were born or their color, creed, or immigration status.”

Friedman also defended the legislation, saying ICE “has become violent, frequently disregarding the law, and often seems to revel in sowing fear and division.”

The law was signed as tensions over immigration policy continue between Massachusetts and the Trump administration. The federal government is suing the state over its refusal to issue undercover license plates to ICE agents, adding to broader disputes over the scope of cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

Meanwhile, ICE is considering expanding its operational footprint in Boston. According to a federal market research notice, the agency is seeking to lease up to 249 parking spaces in downtown Boston near existing or planned ICE facilities.

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