The increased presence of federal immigration enforcement (ICE) has been incredibly damaging to immigrants in Massachusetts and around the country. During the first year of the second Trump administration, ICE agent arrests at courthouses have nearly tripled in the state of Massachusetts, impacting massively the safety, security, and well-being of our state’s immigrant communities. Across the country, we have seen local governments collaborate or be forced to collaborate with ICE officials to the detriment of some of our nation's most vulnerable people. 

As Jews, we are commanded in the Torah 36 times to welcome, love, and care for the stranger, for we were strangers in the land of Egypt. Now is the time that we can put our values into action to welcome and protect our immigrant neighbors and communities. 

Immigration policy must be just, humane, and secure – standards that current policy does not meet. In response to this issue, the Massachusetts Black and Latino Caucus introduced the PROTECT act to regulate the interaction between state/local officials and ICE. The original bill was a comprehensive piece of legislation that would have ensured that ICE’s power in our state would be drastically reduced. 

In late March, the House passed a redrafted version of the PROTECT act that, while still a step in the right direction, removed several of the most effective measures proposed in the original bill. This redrafted version allows for continued voluntary information sharing between ICE and the police, removes a process that would have allowed local agencies to certify visas for immigrants who have been the victims of human trafficking or violent crime, and doesn't guarantee that endangered persons are able to access court proceedings online rather than in person. 

The Senate version was released on April 30. While there are some provisions around police-ICE collaboration that we see as progress, the key components of our platform are still not included. We hope to file several amendments that we will advocate for before the vote on Thursday, May 7.  We will continue to do  everything in our power to advocate for the strongest provisions in the Senate version. 

The People's Platform includes:

1. Ending Massachusetts' only existing 287(g) program and ban all state and local law enforcement information sharing with ICE, including ending federal task forces and fusion centers that share information with the Department of Homeland Security.

2. Expand optional universal virtual access to court proceedings. 

3. Restoring the improvements to the U Visa and T Visa certification process by local agencies removed by the House from the original bill. 

We will update this call guide as we have amendment numbers, but in the meantime please use this tool to advocate for your Senator to support the upcoming Peoples’ PROTECT Act coalition’s amendments. 

These changes have the support of almost 70 organizations, including but not limited to: Asian American Resource Workshop, Asian Pacific Islanders Civic Action Network, Boston Immigration Justice Accompaniment Network, Delivering on Equity, Episcopal City Mission, Fuerza Waltham, Massachusetts Communities Action Network, Massachusetts Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, Massachusetts Voter Table, Muslim Justice League, Neighbors United for a Better East Boston, Pioneer Valley Workers Center, Prison Legal Services of MA, Student Clinic for Immigrant Justice, Unitarian Universalist Mass Action. 

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