SATURDAY, MARCH 28, 2026

Dear Cambridge and Somerville Constituents —

This week we in the House of Representatives voted to pass H.5305, An Act promoting rule of law, oversight, trust, and equal constitutional treatment, also known as The PROTECT Act.

This landmark legislation takes major steps forward to protect our immigrant neighbors and defend everyone's due process and constitutional rights in response to the ongoing fascist ICE crackdown.

I'm very proud to be a co-sponsor of the PROTECT Act, which contains the core elements of the Safe Communities Act, the Dignity Not Deportations bill, and other bills that I've also co-sponsored this term and in recent years.

As I explained in my widely-read blog post from earlier this year, "9 things the legislature should do in response to the ICE crackdown," advocates recognized this winter that the provisions of the Safe Communities Act and other bills didn't fully meet the current moment — so I'm proud to say the new legislation we passed this week addresses all of the top priorities we outlined earlier this year.

And even as we celebrate this progress, it's not lost on me that it was only after DHS/ICE murdered two white people in Minnesota did the winds of political power shift enough to make this step forward a reality in Massachusetts. For years, I've been on the frontlines of the fight for immigrant protections, and the truth is it shouldn't have taken so long. After all, over 30 people died in ICE custody last year, and Trump was putting kids in cages at the border some 8 years ago.

Having acknowledged that, I am proud to say this legislation is a major accomplishment for progressives in Massachusetts (and for anyone who believes in the principles of our constitution and our place as a nation of immigrants) — and it goes a long way toward doing everything we can to protect our immigrant neighbors by keeping state and local law enforcement separate from federal civil immigration enforcement.

Highlights of The PROTECT Act include:

• Bars the use of local resources for civil immigration enforcement.
• Prohibits state and local law enforcement from executing, renewing, or materially expanding a 287(g) agreement, i.e., an agreement to deputize state or local officials as ICE task force agents.
• Prohibits law enforcement from inquiring about immigration status unless the inquiry is directly material to a specific criminal offense.
• Prohibits the initiation of contact with ICE, which limits the sharing of nonpublic information and advance release notifications.
• Establishes our state courts as safer spaces by limiting civil arrests in courthouses (by requiring a judicial warrant or order, and a review by a judicial official).
• Protections for immigrant workers: requires that employers provide written notice to employees within 48 hours of receiving a federal immigration inspection notice, such as an 1-9 audit.
• Strengthens protections for individuals in ICE detention (i.e., requiring notice of legal rights in a person's primary language at intake, guaranteeing confidential attorney-client communication, mandating the timely tracking of custody status and transfers with notice to counsel and designated contacts; providing interpretation services for key interactions and and ensuring access to court proceedings).
• Reforms the certification process for victims of crime and human trafficking to remove roadblocks to securing a U/T visa.
• Authorizes the Governor to restrict civil immigration enforcement in nonpublic areas of state facilities — such as schools and hospitals, et al. — and requires multilingual guidance for agencies, private entities, law enforcement, and the public.

This legislation has been universally praised by immigrant rights and civil rights advocates. To be sure, on a few of the provisions, I was pushing for us to go even further. For example, the state's longstanding 287g agreement with the DOC remains in place for now, so undocumented immigrants convicted of a felony in Massachusetts may still be turned over to ICE. That said, this legislation passed with all House Democrats and even a few moderate Republicans in support — and in the current context where the Trump Administration is aggressively attacking state sovereignty and our constitutional system of rights and due process — I think it is meaningful for us as a Commonwealth to move forward with broad consensus on this comprehensive package of reforms and protections. And I am determined to see us continue to go even further at every opportunity.

Thank you to the leaders of the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus who worked to draft the PROTECT Act and who invited me to join as a co-sponsor. Thank you to the House Speaker and the Ways and Means Chair who made it a priority; thanks as well to all my colleagues and constituents who pushed for this action, to all the advocates and organizers in our community who show up when there are reports of ICE activity in our neighborhoods, and to all the city officials in Cambridge and Somerville who have been setting an example for the entire Commonwealth.

The House Gallery was filled with immigrants and immigrant advocates who were cheering when we passed The PROTECT Act this week. My short video of that moment got a lot of attention online; it's here on Instagram, Bluesky, Facebook, Threads, TikTok, and YouTube shorts. In addition, a recap video from my State House office is also posted to my Instagram, Bluesky, Facebook, TikTok, and Threads.

The PROTECT Act now moves to the state Senate for further consideration, and I'm hopeful it will land on the governor's desk soon.

Finally, today at 1 pm, I will be participating in a NO KINGS pre-rally at 1 pm by Park Street station, then walking over to Boston Common for the main NO KINGS demonstration. The Save Our Social Security and Safety Net working group of Indivisible/Progressive MA (SOS) is organizing this pre-rally today at 1 pm. We will meet outside the Park Street T station for tabling and a short speaking program, and then we will walk over to the larger No Kings demonstration on Boston Common. The main events at the larger No Kings demonstration are expected to get underway circa 2 pm and run through 4 pm. Then I'm heading over to East Somerville for a 5-year anniversary event with Padres Latinos de Somerville that runs from 4 to 8 pm.

Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or feedback. Thank you, as always, for being an informed and engaged constituent.

Yours in service,

Rep. Mike Connolly