Gov. Maura Healey released guidelines for how schools, churches, daycare centers, hospitals and courthouses can bar federal immigration officials from non-public areas of their campuses on Thursday in what she called an effort to protect state residents from ICE's "campaign of fear."
The guidelines follow her executive order issued in January that restricts ICE agent activity in "sensitive locations" where she said all residents of the state should be allowed to feel safe against persecution.
Healey said in January that her executive order would also allow parents to pre-arrange guardianship for their children in case they are detained, and make it illegal for National Guard soldiers from other states to be deployed within Massachusetts without the governor's permission.
"This is about — simply put — keeping people safe in Massachusetts," she said during a Thursday news conference. "We are posting public-facing guidance on our state property to make it clear that ICE is to stay out."
She said the order states that ICE cannot enter non-public areas of these buildings without a valid, judicial warrant, and may not make civil immigration arrests in private areas.
"I wish we didn't have to be here today to continue to defend our residents from unlawful and harmful actions by federal agents," she said. "But the Trump Administration and ICE have shown no signs of changing course."
Healey said federal officials are "still refusing to tell us who they've taken from our state," per her request for a list of all Bay State residents who have been detained.
"I've been demanding this information for months," she said. "To simply know what residents have been taken from our state. Not even why they've been taken. But just account for us who have actually been taken. Nothing has been provided.
"That's because they know what we know. They are going after people who aren't safety threats. And they're still making people afraid."
The new guidance can be found on the state "Protecting People From ICE" website here.
Healey said on Wednesday night the Department of Justice sued the state Registry of Motor Vehicles to force the RMV to issue confidential license plates to ICE officials so they cannot be identified and can "operate in secret as they take people off our streets without cause."
"It's a campaign of fear," she said. "It's meant to intimidate. And it has real ramifications for people here. So, yeah, I'm taking action and will do whatever I can to keep our kids safe, keep their parents safe, and to send a message loud and clear to ICE that they need to stay out of Massachusetts."
Healey said state officials will work with local, state, and federal law enforcement when it comes to the upcoming World Cup games in Foxborough, as well as viewing celebrations across the state.
"There is absolutely no place for ICE at the World Cup — to be clear," she said.
Sign up for free local newsletters and alerts for the
Across Massachusetts Patch
Patch.com is the nationwide leader in hyperlocal news.
Visit Patch.com to find your town today.