JANUARY 25, 2025
Dear Cambridge and Somerville Constituents —
On Monday, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day coincided with the 60th Presidential Inauguration. I attended a house party with Cambridge constituents in support of the Massachusetts Medication Abortion Project, which provides abortion pills to people in all 50 states, regardless of income. On a day of such stark juxtaposition, it felt good to be in community with people who are taking action to keep abortion accessible for all.
To learn more about the incredible work the MAP is doing, please see the webpage for Cambridge Reproductive Health Consultants/The MAP. One-third of the people who receive abortion pills through the MAP can only afford to pay $5, so they are welcoming donations via their webpage to help cover the costs of serving abortion seekers throughout the United States.
TRUMP'S BIGOTED, DEPORTATION AGENDA
On Monday evening, I turned on the TV and saw Donald Trump playing President once again. I immediately felt sick to my stomach. With the stroke of a pen, Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement on climate, dismantled federal programming around diversity, equity, and inclusion, and sought to erase transgender people from our federal laws. My office is now responding to several constituents who are impacted by these and other orders.
This week we also watched as even the most violent perpetrators of the January 6th insurrection/riot were set free from federal prison, no questions asked. Meanwhile, across our community, undocumented immigrants are living in fear of Trump's deportation agenda, even those who have followed all the rules and entered the country lawfully.
This is the split-screen image that stands out in my mind from this past week — violent extremist white men being set free from federal prison while law-abiding immigrant families of color are sent into hiding. It's exactly what Trump promised to do on the campaign trail. For the establishment elites who run the Democratic Party, and for all of us on the political Left, Trump's undisputed victory feels like a sort of rock bottom.
Aside from a sensationalized, made-for-TV operation with Fox News, we so far haven't seen anything all that atypical from federal Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) during Trump's first week. However, Trump continues to promise mass deportations. There have also been many rumors as fears are understandably high.
Most ominous is an executive order Trump signed this week focused on enforcement and removal of immigrants already in the United States. Under the purported headline of "protecting the American people against invasion," this executive order calls for:
- Expansion of ICE detention capacity;
- Increased detention of individuals with pending immigration court cases;
- The expansion of so-called 287(g) agreements to deputize state and local law enforcement to assist with immigration enforcement; and
- An increase in the number of ICE officers.
Fortunately, this executive order does not provide any details on how the administration intends to carry out these goals. My hope is that Democrats in Congress will manage to resist funding these efforts and that advocates will succeed in the courts before Trump manages to fulfill his mass deportation agenda.
Here in Massachusetts, I want to share with you a bit of the legal landscape, including Know Your Rights information for immigrants and some upcoming community events.
IMMIGRATION LAW BASICS
Immigration enforcement is generally the responsibility of federal authorities. State and local law enforcement agencies may only do the work of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under a 287(g) agreement, but those agreements have been on the decline in Massachusetts in recent years.
The main way state and local law enforcement cooperate with ICE is through "immigration detainers," where the federal government asks local law enforcement to hold an individual for up to 48 hours beyond the time they would ordinarily release them. This buffer period gives ICE an opportunity to take custody of immigrants they are targeting for removal.
However, in 2017, a landmark ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court changed the landscape in our state. In Lunn v. Commonwealth, the SJC held that state and local law enforcement have no authority to hold an individual solely on the basis of a federal civil immigration detainer. When Donald Trump and Howie Carr call us a "Sanctuary State," this might be what they are referring to...
And yet, these different provisions are also a source of confusion. Over the past couple of months, as constituents have asked me what to expect from Trump's deportation agenda, some are surprised to learn that despite Cambridge and Somerville's proud status as "sanctuary cities," and despite that overarching SJC ruling — there's still no way to legally stop federal ICE agents from acting in our community, due to federal supremacy.
When Maura Healey went on MSNBC the day after the November election, she said she would "absolutely not" allow the Massachusetts State Police to assist in any mass deportation program. That was encouraging. At the same time, she's now making it clear the state will not get in the way of ICE operations. So therein lies the difference. We generally won't cooperate with ICE — and we've taken major steps forward for immigrant justice in recent years (such as making drivers' licenses available to all regardless of immigration status and allowing in-state college tuition to our immigrant students) — but at the same time, we do not have the authority to prevent ICE raids.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS and OTHER RESOURCES
Given the complicated legal landscape and our inability to prevent ICE activity, it is very important that everyone, especially undocumented immigrants, understands their rights. Please check out the following resources and events to stay informed and learn more:
- Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition's (MIRA) Know Your Rights resources and factsheets. This offers extensive information, presentations, and events in multiple languages.
- ACLU's Immigrants' Rights webpage. Offers information in multiple languages.
- City of Cambridge Know Your Rights Training, Monday, January 27th, 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm. Register via this Zoom link.
- City of Cambridge Know Your Rights Training, Thursday, January 30th, 10:30 am to 12 noon. Register via this Zoom link.
- City of Somerville Know Your Rights trainings and resources are available in multiple languages via the SomerViva website.
- An immigration legal helpline is available to all Massachusetts residents via this page or by calling (508) 293-1871.
Thank you, as always, for being an informed and engaged constituent. As we look ahead to the new legislative term, I will continue standing up for our Cambridge and Somerville values in the state legislature, including our proud tradition of supporting immigrants. Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns.
Yours in service,
Rep. Mike Connolly