The debate continues over whether local and state police should cooperate with — or act as proxies for — federal immigration authorities. Several of the state's biggest cities, including Boston, Somerville, Cambridge and Newton, do not share information with federal immigration officials. In 2017, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled court officers cannot detain anyone solely for immigration violations.
But last September, the SJC decided not to ban the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers themselves from making arrests in courthouses. Now, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins is criticizing the recent detention of a defendant at a Boston court house by ICE agents. Lawmakers and activists are will rally in front of the State House Wednesday in support of a re-introduced Safe Communities Act, which would bar law enforcement from sharing information with ICE.
To discuss these immigration issues on the state level, Jim Braude was joined by Democratic state Sen. Jamie Eldridge, the sponsor of the Safe Communities Act; and Geoff Diehl, a former Republican state representative who ran for U.S. Senate against Elizabeth Warren last November.
