JALSA in The Bay State Banner on ICE Actions in Massachusetts

Full article at this link.

Excerpt from Protesters call on Gov. Healey to end Dept. of Correction’s cooperation with ICE

Their target was a so-called 287(g) agreement between ICE and the DOC that allows state prisons to be used to detain immigrants on behalf of the federal government.

Just one prison in Massachusetts — the Plymouth County Correctional Facility — has entered into such an agreement with ICE. But activists who oppose the state’s participation in Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act say the presence of an ICE detention facility in Massachusetts endangers immigrants here.

Cindy Rowe, executive director of the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action (JALSA), cites a study by the nonprofit Detention Watch Network that found a high correlation between detention facilities and ICE apprehensions of immigrants.

“Where there are beds available, that’s where ICE will go,” Rowe said. “JALSA believes that every individual deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. Right now, our federal government is not treating immigrants with the dignity they deserve.”

State Sen. Adam Gomez, whose district includes most of Springfield and part of Chicopee, is sponsoring Senate Bill S.997, called Dignity not Deportation, which would bar all prisons and law enforcement in Massachusetts from entering into such agreements with ICE.

“We know ICE has been terrorizing communities with total disregard for law enforcement,” he said. “Local communities are left to deal with the consequences.”

The increased ICE raids that have come in the first six months of President Trump’s second term in office has added a sense of urgency to the bill’s backers. Organizations including JALSA, ACLU Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Coalition are pushing for the bill to pass.