Jack Patrick Lewis and Maria Robinson
Guest Columnists
Massachusetts has been a beacon of compassion, equity, and justice. From marriage equality to health care coverage, environmental policy to reproductive justice, our commonwealth has led the country. But our state is not without its shortcomings, and nowhere is this clearer than in our immigration policy.
Most immigration policy is determined at the federal level. Massachusetts’ residents, however, are not immune from our state taxes funding the enforcement of federal immigration law in collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.). While some communities in the commonwealth have sought to protect and defend their immigrant neighbors by passing Welcoming or Trust Act ordinances, others have explicitly sought relationships with I.C.E. in the form of 287(g) agreements. Under such agreements, local law enforcement personnel are deputized to carry out civil immigration enforcement: interrogating detainees, plac
A group representing chefs and restaurant owners in Massachusetts is calling on state lawmakers to help them survive. With temperatures dropping and outdoor dining becoming more difficult, they say more relief is needed now. Massachusetts Restaurants United rallied outside the State House on Tuesday in their chef coats and aprons. They are hoping lawmakers will pass an economic aid package… Massachusetts Jul 29, 2020
Massachusetts’ Senate unanimously approved legislation Tuesday creating a special commission to review the state motto, flag and seal, which includes a controversial depiction of a Native American man. The seal depicts a Native American man, a colonist’s arm brandishing a sword, and a Latin phrase that reads, in part, “By the sword we seek peace.” The bill still needs.
COVID-19 testing is done on Buffum Street by the Lynn Community Health Center in Lynn, MA on Aug. 11, 2020. (Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Why would the medical community be concerned with legislation that would end state and local involvement in immigration enforcement in Massachusetts? The answer is simple: it’s a public health imperative. That’s why we must pass the Safe Communities Act into law.
Nobody should ever fear going to a doctor and receiving the care they need especially in the middle of a pandemic. But for foreign-born patients, many who come from countries where hospitals are government-run, the unfounded fear that providers will share their personal information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can outweigh the risk to them or their loved ones. The ongoing collaboration between local law enforcement and ICE fuels this perception.