On November 25th, Senator Jamie Eldridge, Senator Liz Miranda, and Representatives Priscila Sousa and Manny Cruz testified in front of the Joint Committee on Public Safety in support of S.1681/H.2580, otherwise known as the Safe Communities Act.

As a result of President Trump’s Department of Homeland Security’s mass deportation agenda, families who have lived and worked in Massachusetts for decades are experiencing heightened anxiety from increased federal enforcement actions.

This legislation is critical to restoring the trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities, as well as delineating the separation of powers between the federal government and the Commonwealth. The bill decouples federal civil immigration enforcement from the necessary functions of state and local law enforcement.

The Safe Communities Act ensures that regardless of documentation status, members of the immigrant community can feel confident that they can report crimes to state and local law enforcement and be full participants in local economies. The bill also requires law enforcement agencies to train their officers on the act’s protections, ensuring that they are not just policy statements, but practiced and enforced. In this way, law enforcement partners are set up for success protecting their relationships with the community. When people feel safe engaging with public institutions, crime goes down and communities become stronger and safer.

The legislation directly addresses the following:

Prohibits the questioning of people on their immigration status.
Protects access to justice in our courts by saying that police, court, and correctional facilities cannot inform ice if someone in their custody is undocumented, unless that person has a criminal conviction is being sentenced.
Requires notice to that immigrant who happens to be arrested for a criminal offense that he or she can hire a lawyer to represent them on the immigration matter.
Prohibits 287 (g) agreements, so that local law enforcement cannot collaborate with ICE to enforce federal immigration laws.

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Office of Senator Jamie Eldridge

24 Beacon St.
Room 511-C
Boston, MA, 02133

(617) 722-1120
James.Eldridge@masenate.gov