Massachusetts Senate Condemns Federal Immigration Detentions, Vows to Defend Due Process

BOSTON — The Massachusetts State Senate convened for a special floor statement session in which Senate President Karen Spilka and more than a dozen senators condemned recent federal immigration enforcement actions, named local detainees and incidents, and pledged state-level responses and possible legislation to protect residents’ access to due process.

Spilka opened the remarks by saying the chamber must “wear bear witness” and “use our voices to push back against those in power who would reject the rule of law and due process.” She said, “Let it be entered into the record today that I unequivocally object to the dissolution of due process and the rule of law in America.”

The remarks tied local cases to broader concerns about courts and enforcement. Several senators named people who were detained in Massachusetts in recent weeks, including Ramesa Ozturk, a 30‑year‑old Tufts student taken near campus; Juan Francisco Mendez of New Bedford; and Sunua (also spelled Senua/Sunua in testimony) Petrova, a Harvard‑affiliated researcher detained at Logan Airport. Senator Jalen said, “Ramesa Ozturk is my constituent. She was captured on the street in my city,” and called her detention “truly frightening.”

Why it matters: senators said the incidents raise…