BOSTON, Mass. — On August 5, 2026, Gov. Maura Healey signed the PROTECT Act, which seeks to curtail the federal government’s brutal immigration enforcement activities, protect due process, and limit local agencies’ cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The Protecting Massachusetts Communities Coalition has been advocating for this bill for more than a year and celebrates its passage as an important step in supporting and improving public safety for all residents of the Commonwealth, regardless of immigration status. 

The Protecting Massachusetts Communities Coalition offers its deepest thanks to House and Senate leadership for their support of the bill, and to the six-member conference committee for carefully reconciling the two versions. The coalition also extends special thanks to the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus for their work on the bill, and to Governor Maura Healey for her support and signing this bill into law.

According to the Massachusetts Municipal Association:

“The final accord adopts the broader scope of protected areas offered in the Senate’s version of the bill, restricting warrantless arrests by immigration enforcement officers in courthouses, schools, childcare centers and healthcare centers. Each of these groups will need to create guidance and model policies on interactions related to law enforcement agents, with each school district ensuring it has a written emergency response plan related to these interactions by Sept. 1, 2026, or the first day of school, whichever is earlier.

The law also codifies the Supreme Judicial Court’s “Lunn” decision by reinforcing the idea that local officers cannot arrest or detain a person based on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer alone. It also prohibits any new 287(g) agreements for civil immigration enforcement. The state’s only current 287(g) agreement between the Department of Correction and ICE is allowed to remain intact.

The final compromise also prevents officers from inquiring about immigration status during routine policing and creates new civil liability for ICE agents by allowing victims of unjustified actions to sue them in state court.”

To view the text of the act, visit https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2026/Chapter163.