Supporting our Immigrant Communities

The First Suffolk District is one of the most diverse districts in the City of Boston, where we have a large chinese, vietnamese, cape verdean, haitian, and spanish speaking populatio:

• I co-sponsored and passed the PROTECT Act in support of our immigrant communities, which protects the civil rights of our immigrant neighbors and guards against violations of all our residents’ constitutional rights.
• The PROTECT Act prohibits state and local law enforcement officers from unnecessarily questioning a person about their immigration or citizenship status or stopping a person because of their citizenship or immigration status.
• It also prohibits law enforcement agencies from entering into 287(g) agreements through which the federal government deputizes local officials to carry out immigration enforcement duties. The act also enhances protections at sensitive locations.

I also supported the passage of $5 million in FY26 budget funding to go towards a Immigration Legal Defence Fund to expand access to legal representation, advice and advocacy for immigrants and refugees who are facing unconstitutional threats from the federal government.