Immigration Status and the Criminal Justice System

 District Attorney staff will never use immigration status in making charging decisions, conducting plea negotiations, or making sentencing recommendations. However, because dates of court hearings are publicly available, ICE often detains undocumented immigrants when they appear for court hearings.  This can deter undocumented victims, witnesses, and defendants from participating in the justice system for fear of being detained, which violates our right as a community to hold offenders accountable and makes us all unsafe. For this reason, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that District Attorneys and court officials in Massachusetts may not hinder, but they also may not assist ICE agents in their duties. District Attorney staff will not notify ICE agents about the presence of an undocumented immigrant; neither will they interfere in lawful ICE activity. 

Illegal ICE Activity

ICE activity is on the rise in our community. Excessive force and detention without lawful process are illegal under federal and state law. ICE agents who use unlawful tactics violate the law and endanger the safety of other residents and our local law enforcement. I am proud to have been the first candidate to pledge to prosecute ICE agents whose conduct crosses the line into criminal behavior.