House passes PROTECT Act

On March 25, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a revised version of legislation “promoting the rule of law, oversight, trust, and equal constitutional treatment,” also known as the PROTECT Act.

The bill would establish new statewide standards governing interactions between state and local entities and federal civil immigration enforcement.

In particular, the legislation seeks to regulate how public safety agencies, courts, and other institutions engage with federal immigration authorities, focusing on courthouse access and due process.

Notable provisions in the House bill would:
• Prohibit law enforcement from inquiring about immigration status, unless the inquiry is directly material to a specific criminal offense.
• Ban the use of local resources for civil immigration enforcement.
• Restrict the sharing of nonpublic information and advance release notifications without a legal requirement or judicial warrant.
• Prohibit law enforcement agencies and political subdivisions from executing or renewing a 287(g) memorandum of agreement with federal immigration authorities, with some limited exceptions.
• Limit civil arrests in courthouses by requiring a judicial warrant or order.
• Authorize the governor to restrict civil immigration enforcement in nonpublic areas of state facilities, and require multilingual guidance for agencies, private entities, law enforcement, and the public.
• Authorize the attorney general to enforce through civil actions.

The bill now heads to the Senate, where leaders have indicated strong interest in a similar proposal in the near future.

In January, members of the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus filed an earlier version of the PROTECT Act, which served as the starting point for the House bill, following a public hearing and outreach among House members.

The legislative activity follows related executive action and proposals by Gov. Maura Healey earlier this year.