Massachusetts anti-ICE bill would allow illegal immigrants to sue agents

BOSTON — The Joint Committee on the Judiciary will be taking up a bill Tuesday that would allow illegal immigrants and anyone else arrested or detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to sue the agents who took them into custody.

The proposed bill, An Act Relative to Violations of the United States Constitution Under the Color of Law (S. 2976), was filed in February by state Sen. William Brownsberger and would mirror a federal statute (U.S. Code Section 1983) that dates back to the reconstruction era and allowed citizens to sue state law enforcement for civil rights violations and excessive force.

“Over the past few weeks, federal agents have brutalized people on the streets of Minneapolis. No police necessity can explain their excessive use of force, which has shocked and disgusted fair-minded people across the political spectrum. In the absence of a federal administration willing to hold its agents accountable when they depart from civil norms, states need to impose liability and make court-ordered relief available,” Brownsberger wrote in a February release announcing the legislation.

“The proposed act applies equally to local, state, and federal officers. However, it has the effect of creating new liability only for federal officers. The proposed act will not alter the liability of state and local police officers, because they are already subject to liability for violations of the United States Constitution under (Section) 1983,” he said.

It’s the latest in a flurry of anti-ICE legislation filed by Massachusetts lawmakers, including the Protect Act, which just passed the House and is just a Senate vote away from reaching Gov. Maura Healey’s desk, and would ban ICE agents from making civil arrests in Massachusetts courthouses and other places, among other measures.

“Throughout this legislative session, Senate President Karen Spilka has made clear that the Senate Committee on Steering and Policy is committed to protecting our residents and defending our values in the face of ongoing attacks by the federal government. Recently, Senate President Spilka stood firmly with the Healey-Driscoll Administration in its efforts to shield residents from the ongoing abuses of the Department of Homeland Security and ICE,” said the Democratic members of the Senate Committee on Steering and Policy in a written statement announcing the filing of the bill.

“This bill is one element of a broader, ongoing review of immigrant protections being undertaken by the Senate and the Committee on Steering and Policy will continue its work to advance additional proposals. We are deeply aware of the urgency of these matters,” the statement said.

Similar legislation has been filed by state Sen. Rebecca Raush called An Act Supporting the Pursuit of Justice Against ICE (S.3639).

In a February press release announcing her legislation, which was included in a suite of five anti-ICE bills, Rausch accuses the federal immigration agency of being the cause of “growing chaos and dangerousness” in its operations.

“ICE’s recklessness defies both democracy and safety. Their actions are a gut punch to American values and human decency. We can and should pursue all of our options here in Massachusetts to protect our communities and ensure accountability. These bills aim to rein in ICE from operating with dangerous impunity and defend our civil and constitutional rights,” said Rausch.

Among the other anti-ICE bills filed by Rausch is one, called An Act to De-ICE Massachusetts Law Enforcement (S. 3638), that would ban local and state police from hiring any current or former ICE agent.

“A law enforcement agency shall not employ, hire, contract with, or in any way retain the services of any individual who was hired as a sworn officer or otherwise of or otherwise provided services as an agent of or adviser to the United States immigration and customs enforcement on or after January 20, 2025,” the legislation reads.

The legislation also comes as Healey, Attorney General Andrea Campbell and several state lawmakers have expressed their intent to prosecute ICE agents carrying out operations in Massachusetts.

Last month, Healey implied that she would be open to prosecuting federal agents who violate state law using information gathered by a new online portal she created with AG Campbell for Massachusetts residents to report “potentially unlawful” activity by agents conducting operations in the state.

“My job is to protect public safety here in Massachusetts and opening that portal is part of it, so that people have a way to communicate what they’re observing and if ICE agents are engaged and things are unlawful, then expect them to be held accountable,” Healey told the Boston Herald.

Just last week, during the No Kings rally at the Boston Common, Campbell directly asked state residents to utilize the portal in order for her office to carry out prosecutions of federal agents.

“We need you to record your videos of any interactions that you see in the to upload your stories, your videos, all of it, secretly, safely, so that we can get that information and do what with it? Review it, investigate, and prosecute anyone who is violating our laws, who is harming our people, and who is threatening your safety,” Campbell said to tens of thousands of protesters.

The committee will hear testimony on Brownsberger’s bill on Tuesday at 1 p.m. in Hearing Room A-2 of the State House.

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