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Supporters tell Mass. committee to bar local police from assisting ICE; opponents warn of public-safety trade-offs
Summary
At a joint hearing on the Safe Communities Act (H2580 / S1681), dozens of advocates, service providers and immigrant community members urged lawmakers to prohibit local police cooperation with ICE and to fund legal help for immigrants; one witness group opposed the bills, saying limits on information-sharing could hamper public-safety operations.
Supporters of the Safe Communities Act urged the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security to advance House Bill H2580 and Senate Bill S1681, saying the measures would stop local law enforcement from assisting federal immigration arrests and reduce fear that keeps immigrant residents from seeking help.
"I live on Wampanoag land, which is now called Boston," said Christina Acevedo, who testified that raids and deportations have grown worse and that people are now afraid to leave home or take their children to school. "We cannot allow ICE to do whatever they want."
The lead witnesses framed the bills as a public-safety and public-health intervention. Jonathan Goldman, executive director of the Student Clinic for Immigrant Justice, recounted a coworker’s detention and said the bill would prevent local police from being turned into ICE agents, block deputization arrangements and expand funding for legal assistance. "We cannot continue being complicit in fueling an immigration system that is driven by hate and fear," Goldman said.
Researchers and health advocates told the committee that fear of immigration enforcement is already…
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