Agenda Summary
title
Urging Governor Healey to end the Massachusetts Department of Correction’s 287(g) Agreement.
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Official Text
WHEREAS: The Massachusetts Department of Correction, an executive agency under the authority of the governor of Massachusetts, has participated in the federal 287(g) program since 2007; and
WHEREAS: This program results in Massachusetts residents who have served their full prison sentences and met all requirements of our judicial system being released into the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); and
WHEREAS: ICE detention has reached historic levels in 2026 with more than 73,000 people currently being held in detention facilities across the country; and
WHEREAS: ICE, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) more broadly, have a well-documented practice of denying people in their custody basic rights to due process, medical care, and adequate food and water as guaranteed under the Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution; and
WHEREAS: ICE and DHS claim the right to detain almost all non-citizens and suspected non-citizens indefinitely without the right to a hearing, and routinely defy court orders requiring that detained individuals be given a hearing or even released; and
WHEREAS: ICE and DHS routinely and rapidly transport detained individuals out of state to regions of the country where courts have been more solicitous of the agencies’ claims, often thousands of miles away from their families and attorneys, further frustrating their rights to due process; and
WHEREAS: When ICE and DHS determine that an individual is subject to a final order of deportation, the agencies refuse to publish or disclose, even to an individual’s family or attorney, where or even whether that individual is in custody; and
WHEREAS: On January 29, 2026, Governor Maura Healey signed Executive Order No. 650 prohibiting all future 287(g) agreements unless there is a specific and certified public safety risk or need; and
WHEREAS: On August 5, 2026, Governor Healey signed Chapter 163 of the Acts of 2026, the PROTECT Act, which expanded rights and protections for immigrants in Massachusetts, including banning all future 287(g) agreements; and
WHEREAS: Governor Healey is the only member of the Democratic Governors Association to maintain an active 287(g) agreement with ICE and DHS; and
WHEREAS: The City of Somerville has declared itself a welcoming city and prohibited Somerville Police Department cooperation with ICE; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT
RESOLVED: That the Somerville City Council urges Governor Healey to end the Department of Correction 287(g) agreement immediately; AND BE IT FURTHER,
RESOLVED: That a copy of this resolution be sent to Governor Healey and the Somerville state delegation.