Progressive Massachusetts Stands in Solidarity with Worcester City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj

Councilor Haxhiaj is fighting every day on the ground with and for her constituents. She has been a champion of housing justice, climate justice, and immigrants’ rights–a leader who speaks with moral clarity and backs it up with action. 

We condemn the retaliation against her for defending her constituent against a brutal and unnecessary abduction. Communities are under attack daily by lawless, violent ICE agents, and local elected leaders are best positioned to intervene to protect their constituents and to make clear that our communities do not support President Trump’s harmful, xenophobic agenda. City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj stands up for her constituents, and we stand with her. 

Editorial: Countering Trump-era Policies in Massachusetts and Beyond

Jennifer Debin, “Countering Trump-era Policies in Massachusetts and Beyond,” Dover-Sherborn Hometown Weekly, September 18, 2025.

Dear Editor,

Massachusetts could be doing more to counter the Trump administration’s destructive and chaotic policies.

As Trump escalates, we must too.

All people throughout the country will be harmed by Florida’s troubling decision to eliminate vaccine requirements for schoolchildren following Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s anti-vaccine agenda. We need as many people vaccinated as possible to develop herd immunity. While I appreciate that Massachusetts and Governor Maura Healey are standing up and solidifying our own vaccine policy, a piecemeal state by state approach does  not work for public health issues like communicable diseases.

The governor’s new standing order enables pharmacists to administer the boosters to “all  eligible persons” without CDC approval; this is a start, but not enough. We need our Massachusetts local and federal representatives to step up and take action on the national level. We cannot let anything the Trump administration does be easy. They are acting fast and without regard for the law and are governing for the benefit of a very small fraction of our country.

Women’s health is another area where Massachusetts should lead. We need to continue to bring the fight at every opportunity, challenging both other state governments and federal  policies that aim to limit women’s rights to decide on their own health. How does it make sense to say vaccines are a personal choice but a woman’s own healthcare decisions are not?

Additionally, while federal protections for immigrant students and students with disabilities are in jeopardy, Massachusetts has taken a strong stand to make sure that those rights continue to be protected here. The Commonwealth is a continual leader in public education – our representatives could be bolder, standing up against harmful educational policies on the federal level. 

Massachusetts has established the Protect Education Equity Bill which is an impressive step that allows Massachusetts state law to explicitly affirm the right to a public education for students of all immigration statuses and students with disabilities at a time of rising federal threats to civil rights. This bill is just one example that can be shared with other states. Joining

forces with other states and providing support and sharing of ideas can build a strong coalition against Trump policies.

On immigration, Massachusetts must continue to lead by example as a welcoming place against the hateful and violent actions of this administration, recently exacerbated by ICE’s increased budget and horrific round up quotas, ignoring due process and upending

families. Non-cooperation with ICE at the local level to make safe places for people to be able to work, play, learn, and live is key but the Massachusetts delegation need to increase  challenges at the national level. None of this is normal or okay and we cannot acquiesce.

Lastly, the piecemeal approach to environmental protections will not work and requires a national strategy to be most effective in combating climate change. The Trump administration

halting impactful projects like wind energy are an overreach that will harm us and future generations. 

How can we best support our Massachusetts representatives to think bigger and go beyond our

home state to improve overall quality of life and protect the democracy we love at this tumultuous moment in our country? There is not a simple answer and it can become exhausting addressing so many issues at once, but it is worth challenging Trump-era policies at  

every turn not only for life here in Massachusetts but for the good of the United States.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Debin

Sherborn, MA

PM in the News: “Mayor Wu’s week in the crosshairs of the feds”

Eve Zuckoff and Walter Wuthmann, “Mayor Wu’s week in the crosshairs of the feds,” WBUR, June 7, 2025.

“Mayor Michelle Wu understands that hiding under the bed and thinking that they won’t come after you isn’t a viable strategy,” said Jonathan Cohn, policy director of Progressive Massachusetts. “Anything that you can do to slow them down and make those attacks more difficult is what the city should be doing, not trying to avoid attention.”

In his view, it’s good policy and good politics; “show fight,” as he said.

MA Needs to Stand Up for Immigrant Communities

Over the past couple weeks, we have seen increased ICE presence in Massachusetts. ICE has been kidnapping people off the streets, harassing bystanders, and terrorizing communities.

The LUCE hotline has been doing amazing work to keep people alert and to document what’s happening. Bookmark https://www.lucemass.org/if you haven’t already.

Although we can’t stop everything ICE is doing in Massachusetts, we should not be making their work easier. We need our state elected leaders to pass legislation to limit the scope of ICE in Massachusetts and to better support our immigrant communities.

Here are four actions you can take:

Thank you for all you do, and hope to see you on the 28th!

In solidarity, Jonathan Cohn
Policy Director
Progressive Massachusetts

FOUR STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TODAY

(1) Email Your State Legislators about Immigrants’ Rights Bills

We’re proud to be supporting the following bills:

  • Safe Communities Act (H.2580 / S.1681), which would end the voluntary involvement of our public safety officials in civil immigration matters
  • Dignity Not Deportations Act (H.1588 / S.1122), which would prohibit sheriffs from voluntarily renting beds to ICE and ban agreements to deputize state and local law enforcement to ICE
  • Immigrant Legal Defense Act (H.1954 / S.1127), which would ensure that immigrants navigating our complex immigration courts have legal representation

We need our state legislators to be co-sponsoring these bills and building support with their colleagues to bring them to the floor.

EMAIL YOUR STATE LEGISLATORS

(2) Email Your State Senator about the FY 2026 Budget

The Senate released its draft budget proposal last week, and senators will vote on amendments next week. Unfortunately, the Massachusetts State Senate did not include funding for the Immigrant Legal Defense fund. State Senator Adam Gomez filed Amendment #847 to the budget to provide $10 million in funding for public and private-funded programs to provide no-cost immigration legal defense to immigrants in Massachusetts who are at imminent risk of deportation, especially those held in federal immigration detention.

RAPID RESPONSE: Join MIRA on Thursday, May 15th at 10AM at the 4th Floor Cafe in the Massachusetts State House for a lit drop in support of Amendment #847, the Immigrant Legal Defense Amendment. Please email organizing@miracoalition.org to confirm your attendance.

Can’t go? Email your state senator in support of the amendment.

EMAIL YOUR STATE SENATOR

(3) Email Governor Healey to Demand Action

Join the Immigrant Justice Network of Massachusetts in calling on Governor Healeyto

  • Support state legislation, to terminate every state contract funneling money and resources into the deportation machine, and ban new contracts (including the Dignity Not Deportations Bill – H.1588 & S.1122). This includes terminating the existing 287g contracts with the Department of Corrections, and doing everything in your power to end the Intergovernmental Service Agreement with Plymouth County Correctional Facility
  • Restore COVID-19 era remote participation in our courthouses
  • Create a reparations fund for families and communities shattered by these kidnappings, detentions, and deportations

EMAIL GOV. HEALEY

(4) RSVP for Our Lobby Day

We’ll be holding our annual lobby day on Wednesday, May 28. We’ll be lobbying forkey bills in our legislative agenda, especially bills to raise revenue and to protect our immigrant communities.

Showing up is essential to build the momentum and sense of urgency that propel bills forward into laws.

Progressive Mass 2025 Lobby Day

Wednesday, May 28
10:00 am, Massachusetts State House (Room 428)

RSVP TODAY

PM in the News: “Federal funds go to migrant support in Boston shelters”

Sarah Betancourt, “Federal funds go to migrant support in Boston shelters,” WGBH, November 25, 2024.

I do think that having that money come in now is especially important because supportive money on that front might not be there once the Republicans in D.C. get their hands on the budget,” said Jonathan Cohn, policy director for Progressive Massachusetts.

Boston also has the Trust Act, an ordinance that prohibits police from asking people about their immigration status, sharing information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, making arrests as a result of ICE warrants, and transferring people to immigration custody.

“We shouldn’t put ourselves in a situation where we don’t have funding because the federal government says ‘We’ll only give you this funding if you repeal this Trust Act,”’ said Cohn. He recommends the city do everything it can to boost resources before January.

“So we continue to be a welcoming space to refugees coming here and can give them a place to stay while they eventually can get a work permit or can get safe housing elsewhere,” he said.

Cohn also said that while other cities and towns have similar language to the Trust Act, this could be an opportunity for the state to pass something that is a “statewide provision,” that standardizes rules around cooperating with immigration enforcement across communities.

PM in the News: “Playing the Trump Card on Shelter Limits”

Kelly Garrity, “Playing the Trump Card on Shelter Limits,” Politico, November 25, 2024.

“Next year, as Trump is president, some of the imagery around the state kicking out families — that happening under a Trump presidency will definitely increase a certain emotional reaction,” Jonathan Cohn, the policy director at Progressive Massachusetts, told Playbook.

In an interview on MSNBC shortly after the election, Healey said that Massachusetts State Police would “absolutely not” assist if asked by Trump’s administration to help execute mass deportations. That, Cohn said, is “a clear disconnect” from the message her office is sending at home.

House, Senate Pass Consensus Economic Development Bill

Yesterday, the House and Senate passed their conferenced versions of the economic development bill, which had been stalled in negotiations since July. The bill passed easily, 39 to 1 in the Senate and 137 to 8 in the House — the only opposition coming from the most conservative of Republicans.

The economic development bill contains a number of policy measures, such as the following ones that we or our allies supported:

Educator diversity. It allows the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to develop an alternative certification process for teachers who may face challenges passing the educator certification exam but can otherwise demonstrate their competence as teachers. MTA, AFT Mass, and BTU had been advocating for this.

Strengthening local and regional public health systems. It overhauls the state’s fragmented public health system to ensure strong public health protections for all residents regardless of race, income, or zip code. The Mass Public Health Association had been advocating for this.

Pathway for foreign-trained physicians. It creates a pathway in Massachusetts for physicians previously authorized to practice medicine outside the United States to practice in an underserved region of the Commonwealth. The Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) had been advocating for this.

Childcare as campaign expense. It removes current limitations on political candidates using campaign funds for childcare services that occur because of campaign activities. The Mass Women’s Political Caucus had been advocating for this.

FAFSA. The bill requires each school district to notify students prior to graduating from high school of the availability of FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and to provide students with information on financial aid options. uAspire, a fellow member of the Higher Ed for All coalition, had been advocating for this.

Project labor agreements. It authorizes public agencies and municipalities to enter into project labor agreements for public works contracts when such an agreement is in the best interest of the public agency or municipality. The Mass AFL-CIO had been advocating for this.