Thursday, March 4, 2026
Chair Cahill and Members of the House Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security:
Thank you so much for holding today’s public forum. I am submitting testimony on behalf of Progressive Massachusetts. PM is a statewide, multi-issue, grassroots membership organization focused on fighting for policy that would make our Commonwealth more equitable, just, sustainable, and democratic.
Since taking office, Donald Trump has made it his mission to terrorize immigrant communities across the country, including here in the Commonwealth. The violent, reckless, and blatantly racist nature of ICE activities have been making communities less safe. They are not enforcing laws; they are violating them with abandon and impunity, a secret police that is occupying cities, engaging in large-scale racial profiling, and committing murder.
We appreciate the work that the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus has put into the creation of the PROTECT Act (H.5158). Good policy comes from consulting both people on the ground and policy experts, and they have done this to put together a multi-part bill addressing problems that have gotten worse and problems that have newly arisen.
The most important action that Massachusetts can take right now is to establish clearly in our laws that our state and local law enforcement will not be collaborating formally or informally with ICE.
First, Massachusetts must ensure that our state and local law enforcement are never deputized as ICE agents. Despite the massive infusions of money into ICE, Trump knows that he cannot achieve his full detention and deportation agenda on the basis of existing staffing: he needs state and local law enforcement to do the work for him to extend reach. Since Trump took office, we have seen a rapid rise in the number of 287(g) agreements across the country. We must be proactive in ensuring that these agreements do not spread across Massachusetts.
California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington have all taken action. We should too, and we should follow their lead in passing a ban without any loopholes.
Second, we need to ensure that our local law enforcement are not assisting ICE. When the line between local public safety officials and federal immigration enforcement get blurred, communities become less safe.
The PROTECT Act’s ban on police asking about immigration status is critical in this regard. When people fear that reporting a crime could lead to the deportation of themselves or a loved one, then they will be less likely to do so, and that will tip the scales in abusive power dynamics–whether abusive spouses, exploitative bosses, predatory landlords, or more.
Similarly, we support the bill’s prohibition on police and court staff sharing non-public information with ICE and the prohibition on the use of state and local resources for the primary purpose of facilitating civil immigration enforcement–although removing the word “primary” will close what could become a dangerous and exploitable loophole.
The PROTECT Act’s protections are critical, and they must extend to all levels of law enforcement, including state agencies, municipalities, and county sheriffs. The majority of 287(g) agreements around the country are signed by sheriffs. We used to have such county-level agreements, and we need to make sure none of them come back.
Let’s be clear: the best time to ban collaboration with ICE is yesterday. The second best time is today.
Finally, if we want to have a justice system in this country, then people need to feel safe going to courthouses, whether as a plaintiff, as a defendant, or as a witness. We support the protections of courthouses because they make sure that due process, a bedrock right, still exists.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Cohn
Policy Director
Progressive Massachusetts
