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SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1937 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1510
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
James B. Eldridge
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act to protect the civil rights and safety of all Massachusetts residents.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and WorcesterLiz MirandaSecond SuffolkRuth B. Balser12th Middlesex1/24/2023Joanne M. ComerfordHampshire, Franklin and Worcester1/27/2023Jacob R. OliveiraHampden, Hampshire and Worcester1/27/2023Sal N. DiDomenicoMiddlesex and Suffolk1/30/2023Jack Patrick Lewis7th Middlesex1/30/2023Vanna Howard17th Middlesex1/31/2023Michael J. BarrettThird Middlesex1/31/2023Rebecca L. RauschNorfolk, Worcester and Middlesex2/6/2023Jason M. LewisFifth Middlesex2/7/2023Julian CyrCape and Islands2/9/2023Kay Khan11th Middlesex2/9/2023Carmine Lawrence Gentile13th Middlesex2/10/2023Adam GomezHampden2/22/2023Patricia D. JehlenSecond Middlesex3/3/2023Thomas M. Stanley9th Middlesex3/9/2023 1 of 6
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1937 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1510
By Mr. Eldridge, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1510) of James B. Eldridge, Liz
Miranda, Ruth B. Balser, Joanne M. Comerford and other members of the General Court for
legislation to protect the civil rights and safety of all Massachusetts residents. Public Safety and
Homeland Security.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 1579 OF 2021-2022.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
_______________
An Act to protect the civil rights and safety of all Massachusetts residents.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the “Safe Communities Act”
2 SECTION 2. Chapter 147 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after
3section 62 the following section:-
4 Section 63. Updates to Law Enforcement Procedures
5 (a) Definitions
6 As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings, unless the
7context clearly requires otherwise: 2 of 6
8 “Law enforcement agency”, any state, municipal, college or university police department,
9sheriff’s department, correctional facility, prosecutorial office, court, probation office, or
10program of one or more of the foregoing entities, or any other non-federal entity in the
11commonwealth charged with the enforcement of laws or the custody of detained persons.
12 “Immigration enforcement”, any and all efforts to investigate, enforce, or assist in
13investigating or enforcing any federal immigration law. Such purposes do not include
14verification of an applicant’s eligibility for state or federal programs or services.
15 “United States Department of Homeland Security” or “DHS”, the United States
16Department of Homeland Security and its component agencies, including Immigration and
17Customs Enforcement, the former Immigration and Naturalization Service, Customs and Border
18Protection, and any other federal agency charged with enforcing immigration laws.
19 (b) Community relations with law enforcement agencies
20 Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, no officer or employee of a
21law enforcement agency, while acting under color of law, shall question persons, including
22victims and witnesses of crimes, about their immigration status unless state or federal law
23requires the inquiry, provided that judges and magistrates may make such inquiries as are
24necessary to adjudicate matters within their jurisdictions.
25 (c) Due process protections
26 Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, an interview, including any
27informal questioning, between an agent of the United States Department of Homeland Security
28or an officer or employee of a law enforcement agency and a person in the custody of a law 3 of 6
29enforcement agency conducted for immigration enforcement purposes shall take place only if the
30person in custody gives informed consent by signing a written consent form provided by the law
31enforcement agency. The consent form shall explain that: (i) the interview is for immigration
32enforcement or deportation purposes; (ii) any information provided at the interview can be used
33against the person; (iii) the person may decline to sign any documents that are presented during
34the interview; and (iv) the person may choose to decline the interview or to be interviewed only
35with an attorney present, at the person’s own expense. The consent form shall provide a
36checkbox or other means to indicate if an interview has taken place, and if so, if an attorney was
37present. The consent form shall be available in English and other languages commonly spoken in
38Massachusetts. The law enforcement agency shall make best efforts to provide a consent form
39that is in a language that the person understands, and to provide oral interpretation if needed, in
40order to obtain the person’s informed consent for the interview. The office of the attorney
41general shall prepare the consent form and make it available to law enforcement agencies, and
42may work with interested not-for-profit organizations to prepare translations of the form.
43 Any and all records relating to the granting of these interviews or questioning shall be
44public records as defined in paragraph 26 of section 7 of chapter 4, provided that names,
45addresses, phone numbers and other personal identifying information shall not be a public
46record. These records include the signed consent forms obtained before the interviews, and
47information about whether the interview or questioning was conducted in the presence of an
48attorney.
49 (d) The preceding subsections (b) and (c) shall not apply to interviews or questioning of
50persons who are held in Massachusetts correctional facilities under an Inter-Governmental
51Service Agreement with the United States Department of Homeland Security, provided, 4 of 6
52however, that persons who are booked into a correctional facility under such an agreement shall
53be advised at the booking that the person (i) has the right to seek legal counsel from an
54immigration attorney at their own expense; (ii) may choose to decline to speak with a DHS agent
55or to speak with the DHS agent only with an attorney present; and (iii) may decline to sign any
56documents presented by a DHS agent.
57 (e) Guidelines for reporting release information
58 Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, no officer or employee of a
59law enforcement agency shall initiate communication with the United States Department of
60Homeland Security about the pending or imminent release, from state, local or county custody,
61of a person who is being released for any reason other than the end of a sentence of incarceration
62for a criminal conviction; provided, however, that nothing in this section shall prohibit or restrain
63any state or local agency from sending to, or receiving from, any local, state, or federal agency,
64information regarding citizenship or immigration status.
65 If a law enforcement agency receives a request for notification from the United States
66Department of Homeland Security regarding a person in its custody, including a request for
67notification under to federal form I-247A or I-247N, the law enforcement agency shall inform
68the person of the request and shall provide the person with a copy of the request and copies of
69any other documentation pertaining to the person’s case that is presented to the law enforcement
70agency by the United States Department of Homeland Security.
71 (f) Implementation and training
72 Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, all law enforcement agencies
73in the commonwealth shall, within 12 months of passage of this act, incorporate information and 5 of 6
74guidance regarding this section into their regular introductory and in-service training programs.
75An individual may file a complaint for a violation of this section with the corresponding
76department or agency, which shall investigate the complaint. At the conclusion of the
77investigation, the agency head shall provide the executive office of public safety and security
78with a written summary of the investigation’s findings. If the agency head substantiates the
79allegations, the written summary shall provide details of the specific actions taken to correct the
80violation as well as details of the sanctions imposed on the subjects of the investigation, if any.
81Findings made under this subsection shall be public records as defined in paragraph 26 of section
827 of chapter 4, provided that personal identifying information shall not be a public record.
83 SECTION 3. Chapter 126 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after
84section 39 the following section:-
85 Section 40. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, no officer or
86employee of the department of corrections, the state police, any sheriff’s department, or any city
87or town police department shall perform the functions of an immigration officer, whether
88pursuant to 8 U.S.C. section 1357(g) or any other law, regulation, or policy, whether formal or
89informal. Any agreements in existence at the time of the passage of the law that are inconsistent
90with this section are null and void. Any entity of the commonwealth or any political subdivision
91thereof that is a party to such an agreement on the date of the passage of this act shall, within 90
92days, inform the other party or parties that the contract is null and void under Massachusetts law.
93Nothing in this section shall prohibit the department of correction or a house of correction from
94entering into an Inter-Governmental Service Agreement with the United States Department of
95Homeland Security in which persons in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody are 6 of 6
96housed at the house of correction and the United States Department of Homeland Security pays a
97daily fee for each person detained there.