Mass. passes law limiting ICE. Now comes the backlash
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Gov. Maura Healey speaks before signing the PROTECT Act. Photo: Steph Solis/Axios
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed a bill Wednesday that limits local police from interacting with federal immigration agents.
The big picture: The signing ceremony drew cheers from hundreds who packed into La Collaborativa in Chelsea.
- And it swiftly drew rebukes from critics accusing Healey of doubling down on the sanctuary label she's shied away from during her reelection campaign.
Catch up quick: The new law bars federal immigration agents from conducting civil arrests in courthouses, schools, daycare centers and health care facilities.
- It's also packed with guidelines for various workplaces, including the courts and schools, on how to respond if agents show up.
- For families that get separated, the law recognizes their safety plans, known as a "carta power" in Spanish, while preserving the parents' rights.
Friction point: Perhaps the most controversial provisions are the bans on new 287(g) agreements and the language allowing the attorney general to sue any federal immigration officer violating the new law.
- Some advocates, however, said the bill fails to truly ban new agreements because some agencies could get special permission from the governor to proceed with a new contract under certain conditions.
Still, the biggest clash over the bill involves the state's Democratic leaders and Republican critics on Beacon Hill and beyond.
- Both Republican gubernatorial candidates, Mike Minogue and Brian Shortsleeve, have spoken out against the legislation.
What they're saying: Healey, surrounded Wednesday morning by lawmakers and advocates, celebrated the passage but warned the backlash is coming.
- "There will be ugly rhetoric. There will be cruelty. There will be racist tirades," she said.
- "We'll be strong. We'll be tough. We know what's right. We know how to protect ourselves."
The other side: "When politicians bar local law enforcement from working with [the Department of Homeland Security], our law enforcement officers have to have a more visible presence so that we can find and apprehend the criminals let out of jails and back into communities," a DHS spokesperson said in a statement to Axios.
- The Massachusetts Coalition for Immigration Reform said in a statement that the new law "goes well beyond earlier sanctuary legislation" and "prioritizes ideology over public safety."
What we're watching: The new law won't prevent the feds from trying to conduct immigration enforcement in Massachusetts.
- ICE is looking into leasing 249 parking spaces in downtown Boston for five years, NBC Boston first reported.