Baker drafting legislation to honor ICE hold requests

Gov. Charlie Baker is drafting legislation that would restore the state police’s ability to hold some defendants on a federal immigration detainer after they post bail, a policy that was stripped by a bombshell court decision earlier this week.

The Supreme Judicial Court ruling Monday bars local law enforcement from keeping in custody those wanted only on civil immigration violations. The decision reversed parts of the state policy Baker installed in June 2016, which allowed troopers to hold defendants wanted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for up to 48 hours under a variety of circumstances.

Baker aides have said the policy targeted suspected terrorists and illegal immigrants who have previous convictions on felonies or gang-related crimes. Since last June, state officials said police have held 27 people on federal detainers, and refused to honor 13 other ICE requests.

But within hours of the SJC ruling, the state amended its policy. As a result, administration officials said, if a suspect is charged criminally and is wanted on an ICE detainer, state police can no longer hold them when they post bail.

Although it’s still being developed, the planned legislation is aimed at allowing state police to hold illegal immigrants for a period of time if they have been convicted of a serious crime, such as rape or heroin trafficking, or if they are considered a terrorist threat, officials said. The bill could surface as early as next week.

In a statement, a Baker spokeswoman said the administration is still “exploring legislation options” in the wake of the landmark SJC ruling, believed to be the first in the country to bar local authorities from enforcing federal immigration law.

“Gov. Baker does not support a sanctuary state and believes the administration’s policy is an important public safety tool to keep our communities safe,” Lizzy Guyton, a Baker spokeswoman, said.

Conservative Republicans in the House are also pushing legislation, co-sponsored by state Reps. Jim Lyons and Geoff Diehl, that would give state law enforcement officials the authority to arrest and detain people on federal immigration detainers.

“I’m happy with either solution, allowing state police (to restore their policy) or the bill that I co-sponsored,” Diehl said. “Either way I think it goes a long way toward allowing law enforcement to do their job.”