Mass. lawmakers advance Protect Act amid Haitian TPS limbo
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Associate Pastor Daphne Germain-Laroche (right) and other faith leaders pray Wednesday in the Massachusetts State House before learning about the Protect Act advancing. Photo: Steph Solis/Axios
Massachusetts lawmakers plan to vote Thursday on a proposal to limit immigration enforcement and bolster protections for immigrants, Sen. Cindy Friedman said.
The big picture: The proposal would codify due process protections for immigrants, including Haitians who recently lost Temporary Protected Status, at a time when federal agents are reportedly ramping up immigration enforcement.
Driving the news: A panel of House and Senate lawmakers announced a deal on the bill, known as the PROTECT Act, Wednesday.
- The legislation would codify and expand on protections enshrined in the 2017 Lunn decision, barring police from detaining people solely on civil immigration violations or asking about their immigration status in most cases.
- It would also codify protections for immigrants in "sensitive locations" like churches, schools, daycares and hospitals and includes other provisions that immigrant rights advocates have spent years pushing for on Beacon Hill.
What they're saying: "The hour for studies has passed. The hour for speeches? Passed. The hour for political calculation? Passed," said Daphne Germain-Laroche, an associate pastor at the New Covenant Church of Cambridge in Waltham, before learning about the deal.
- After hearing from lawmakers, Germain-Laroche tells Axios she's cautiously hopeful but will need to see what's in the final bill.
Threat level: The Massachusetts Senior Care Association estimates that 2,000 of its members will lose their jobs as a result of TPS expiring for Haiti.
- Thousands more work in other areas of health care and other industries.
- Cambridge Health Alliance lost 15 employees as a result of the expiration.
- Fewer families are going to church or taking their children to school, says Rev. Dr. Dieufort Fleurissaint, also known as Pastor Keke.
The fine print: The fate of TPS for Haiti remains uncertain, with lawyers and the Department of Homeland Security arguing over whether the designation actually expired on Monday.
- It was the U.S. Supreme Court's self-imposed deadline to send its judgment remanding the TPS case to a federal appeals court after its ruling in June, but the court has blown past that deadline.
Reality check: Even with a new law in place, Massachusetts officials can't stop federal agents from trying to detain immigrants on civil infractions.
- "Whether we like it or not, we're in a harm-reduction mode here," says state Rep. Andy Vargas, chair of the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus.
What we're watching: State officials, employers and organizations like Mass Senior Care are trying to get clarity on whether TPS really expired.
- In the meantime, they're pushing for congressional intervention, says Tara Gregorio, Mass Senior Care's president.