Massachusetts governor signs law limiting ICE access to courts, schools, hospitals
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed the Protect Act into law Wednesday to limit U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents' access to schools, daycares, hospitals, health centers, nursing homes and courthouses in the state.
In a ceremony at La Colaborativa, an economic development agency in Chelsea, Healey said it's the strongest law in the country when it comes to protecting people from ICE. The governor said Chelsea is one of the communities in the state suffering from fear of the immigration agents.
Healey said the fear of being detained has kept kids from attending school. In Chelsea, they've seen a decline in enrollment. The governor said people have also stopped going to doctor's appointments and seeking medical care and that ICE agents at courthouses have deterred witnesses and victims from showing up, leading to cases being dismissed.
The law will also allow parents to pre-arrange guardianship for their children in case they're detained by ICE or deported, Healey said.
CBS News Boston has reached out to ICE for comment on the new law but has not heard back.
The immigration crackdown across the country has been expanding this summer. According to data obtained by CBS News this week, ICE detentions set a record monthly high for President Trump's second term in July.
ICE detained more than 46,000 people facing deportation because of alleged immigration violations, as shown by preliminary figures from Homeland Security.
"The law I'm signing today is a public safety law," Healey told reporters Wednesday.
"I think we can agree that we need immigration reform in this country. We can agree we need controls at the border. 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."
