MASSACHUSETTS IS GUIDING schools and colleges on how to deny federal immigration enforcement access to nonpublic areas, advising health care facilities on how protect confidential health information, and working with places of worship on ways to interact with officers, as well as posting public-facing guidance on state property “to make really clear that ICE is to stay out,” Gov. Maura Healey said.
The new guidance that stems from an executive order the governor signed in January “clarifies that administrative warrants issued by ICE or the Department of Homeland Security do not authorize entry into nonpublic spaces,” according to the Healey administration, and encourages providers and organizations “to establish clear escalation procedures, identify public and nonpublic areas, protect confidential information and train staff on how to respond appropriately to interactions with federal immigration officers.”
According to Healey, the guidance informs colleges, schools and day care centers about how to protect student privacy, interact with federal agents, get legal review for warrants presented, and deny access to classrooms, dorms, or other nonpublic areas unless a valid judicial warrant is confirmed.
Healey said the guidance also informs hospitals and health care centers on how to protect patient health information, and enables houses of worship to “establish policies to protect their people, including by making clear public versus nonpublic spaces to restrict ICE access.”
“I wish we didn’t have to be here today to continue to defend our residents from unlawful and harmful actions by federal agents, but the Trump administration and ICE have shown no signs of changing course,” Healey said at a press conference.
Her executive order barred federal immigration officers from making civil arrests in nonpublic areas of state facilities “except as authorized by a judicial warrant or judicial order.” It also stated that state facilities can’t be used by federal immigration officers to facilitate civil immigration enforcement efforts.
“This is real. People are afraid to go to church. People are afraid to worship. We have reports from our health care centers that people are afraid to go,” Healey said. “They’re afraid to go to court.”