1. United States
2. Mass.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to take immediate action to protect Massachusetts communities from Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in our state courts. Escalating numbers of violent ICE arrests at courthouses, with complicity from court officials and local police, are turning public institutions into deportation traps that endanger everyone. The Deportation Data Project's newly released data reveals alarming increases in courthouse arrests across Massachusetts. At Waltham District Court, ICE arrests nearly doubled from 11 between January 2023 and December 2024 to 21 between February 2025 and September 2025. Lynn District Court saw arrests increase from 20 to 27 in the same timeframe, while Boston arrests nearly doubled or more within less than a year. This is not isolated to greater Boston but is happening statewide. Poor, Black, brown, and other marginalized immigrant community members are disproportionately affected because they are overpoliced and oversurveilled, representing a disproportionate share of individuals summoned to court. They are being singled out by federal enforcement actions completely unrelated to their reasons for being in state courts. Current court rules allow information sharing with ICE that disrupts ongoing Massachusetts court processes, tears families apart, and leaves communities without their neighbors. Eight states including California, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Oregon, and Washington have already taken meaningful steps to protect their communities. Massachusetts must do the same. I urge you to pass legislation banning ICE courthouse arrests and requiring agents to visibly identify themselves, mandate virtual access to all Massachusetts courts, prohibit court and law enforcement cooperation with ICE including information sharing through systems like the Boston Regional Intelligence Center, ensure transparency through mandatory public reporting on ICE activities, and support community-led court observer programs. State government has a responsibility to stop our courts from being used as staging grounds for targeting community members. This is a matter of political will, and I am asking you to stand up for justice and the values Massachusetts claims to uphold.