As the Trump administration cracks down on illegal immigration, there's mounting pressure for Massachusetts to enact so-called sanctuary policies at the state level.
Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone told the crowd of several hundred who gathered to lobby lawmakers that the nation is in crisis and now is the time to pass legislation to make Massachusetts "a sanctuary state."
"No one is on the outside of our communities in this Commonwealth. And we must make it clear that we're not going to turn our back on who we are," Curtatone said.
The Safe Communities Act, sponsored by Sen. Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton) and Rep. Juana Matias (D-Lawrence) would bar state, local and university police from taking part in federal activities that are based solely on immigration enforcement and would stop law enforcement agencies from allowing their officers to be deputized by federal authorities as immigration agents. The bill would also prevent any state agency from participating in a registry based on national origin or religion and would require that any detained immigrants be informed in their own language of their right to decline an interview with federal immigration agents.
Opponents say it's up to Washington, not Beacon Hill, to come up with immigration reforms.
"What's not appropriate is for Massachusetts to thumb their nose to the federal government and decide what laws we want to enforce and what laws we don't," Rep. Marc Lombardo (R-Billerica) told WGBH News Wednesday.
The bill has support in the Senate, but it's unclear if the more conservative House will take it up. According to the Massachusetts Immigrants and Refugees Association Coalition, the advocacy group behind the lobby effort, 17 of 40 senators and 75 of 160 House representatives back the bill.
Last session, the bill was heard in February 2016, but languished in Committee until being killed by the House in September of last year.
