SANCTUARY CITY BILL DEBATE
Eldridge: ‘groundswell of support’
A Beacon Hill bill, set for debate today, that would make Massachusetts a sanctuary state is drawing cheers from advocates who say it would protect illegal immigrants from President Trump’s crackdown — and jeers from critics who say it would allow dangerous criminals and potential terrorists to roam free.
The bill, dubbed the Safe Communities Act and sponsored by state Sen. Jamie Eldridge (DActon), would bar any local or state official from using “funds, resources, facilities, property, equipment, or personnel for immigration enforcement purposes,” arguing that responsibility falls to the federal government. It would also force sheriffs in Bristol and Plymouth counties to pull out of agreements with the feds to deputize officers to conduct immigration screens in jails.
“There’s been a great groundswell of support from across the state, largely in response to the change in deportation policies by President Trump. ... I absolutely expect it to be an intense hearing,” said Eldridge, who argues that the bill will make immigrants more comfortable reporting crimes to police without fear of being deported.
But the Massachusetts Coalition for Immigration Reform, a conservative group, said the bill’s “only practical effect” is to protect criminals who according to the law should be deported.
“The sanctuary bill seeks to obstruct federal/state cooperation in law enforcement, a cornerstone of our system of justice,” the coalition said in a statement. “As we learned to our regret after the Marathon bombing, 9/11 and other terrorist acts, more cooperation is needed among law enforcement authorities — not less.”
A similar House proposal by state Rep. Antonio Cabral (DNew Bedford) received a chilly reception from House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo and Gov. Charlie Baker, who oppose designating Massachusetts a sanctuary state.
A Baker spokesman, commenting on Eldridge’s bill, said in a statement that the governor “opposes any proposals to designate Massachusetts a sanctuary state.”
“In a commitment to keep our communities safe, the Baker-Polito Administration supports upholding our policy that allows the state police to detain violent and dangerous criminals or suspected terrorists,” the statement reads.
The bill, which is before the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security, also would bar state and local agencies from providing records to any federal program that registers people on the basis of national or ethnic origin, out of fear the Trump administration may try to create a registry of all Muslims in the U.S.
Eldridge, who’s pushed a version of the bill called the Trust Act for four years, said he’s more optimistic than ever at the chance of passage after 19 Senate and 60 House co-sponsors signed on, the most to date.
The Massachusetts Immigration Reform Coalition, a prosanctuary group, said the act “has generated enormous support across our commonwealth because it asserts our core values and constitutional principles.”
Trump has promised to withhold federal law enforcement grant funds and potentially homeland security money to jurisdictions that pass so-called sanctuary laws.