ICE OUT
Mapping and Resisting Local Law Enforcement Collusion with ICE in Massachusetts
April 2026
In the context of aggressive federal immigration enforcement that has shifted away from the border and into our communities, this report examines the role that Massachusetts local law enforcement and justice actors play in federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. State law prohibits local and state authorities from detaining a person solely on the basis of a federal civil immigration detainer. However, the law allows a wide range of communication, information sharing, and collaboration with federal immigration agents. To research this report, Citizens for Juvenile Justice (CfJJ) submitted more than 90 public records requests to police, sheriff and district attorney’s offices in Massachusetts. We found that local police, sheriffs, and courthouse staff regularly collaborate, and share information, with federal immigration authorities, thereby acting as ‘force multipliers’ for ICE. This reduces trust in the justice system, short circuits ongoing legal cases, and undermines our democratic processes. We urgently need barriers between local law enforcement and the federal policing apparatus at this moment.
Figure 1: The current fingerprint process sends details of all arrests to ICE
Figure 2: Most police departments have policies that allow communication and collaboration with ICE. Source: CfJJ analysis of documents received from public records requests
*The information used in this infographic has been obtained from Bedford PD, Brookline PD, Everette PD, and the Lexipol policy that is being used by Chicopee PD, Tewksbury PD, and Shrewsbury PD51
Figure 3: How to analyze police policies in Massachusetts concerning level of collaboration with ICE