Make Massachusetts a Sanctuary Commonwealth

We, the undersigned, residents of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, petition to make Massachusetts a Sanctuary Commonwealth. We do not want our tax dollars spent enforcing the new policies of the Trump Administration by needlessly detaining out-of-status immigrants. We believe that hard-working immigrants are part of the fabric of our community, we do not want Massachusetts city, town or state police force detaining them solely on the basis of immigration status or having been convicted of non-violent misdemeanor offenses.

The sanctuary movement began in the 1980s, gaining popularity when unfair federal immigration policies began targeting and deporting immigrants arrested for minor, nonviolent crimes. By limiting the interaction between the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) and local law enforcement, sanctuary cities have prevented thousands of people from being removed from their homes and deported. The policies also effectively improve community safety by encouraging communication between undocumented immigrants and local law enforcement agencies. This enables undocumented immigrants to report crime and serve as witnesses in court. Notably, sanctuary cities do not prevent ICE officials from deporting violent offenders.

We propose to extend this across the Commonwealth.

Furthermore, some sanctuary cities have issued ID cards for residents. The cards help members of the community take advantage of key government services, access financial institutions, and raise public safety concerns. We propose to make such cards available to residents across the Commonwealth.