As schools across Massachusetts prepare to welcome students back and adjust to new responsibilities under the state’s recent immigrant protection law, the governor’s office Tuesday shared new guidance for handling situations that involve immigration enforcement at schools and childcare centers.
The state guidelines provide “clear steps to follow if ICE agents arrive on site or request access to a student, child or their information,” the administration said, and touch on considerations like designating staff points of contact, reviewing and responding to requests, involving legal counsel when appropriate, documenting interactions, notifying families and protecting confidential information.
The immigrant protection law that Gov. Maura Healey signed Aug. 5 expanded protections against warrantless civil immigration arrests to courthouses, public schools, childcare centers and healthcare facilities. It also required schools and state-funded or licensed childcare programs to adopt policies governing interactions with civil law enforcement—and have them in effect by Sept. 1 or the first day of the 2026–2027 school year, whichever is earlier.
“As families prepare for the new school year, every child should feel safe walking into their classroom, and every parent should feel confident dropping them off,” Healey said in a statement. “The PROTECT Act makes clear that schools and child care programs are places for children to learn and grow, not places for ICE to target families. These resources give educators and providers the clear guidance they need to put those protections into practice.”
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released model policies and procedures for school districts, charter schools and educational collaboratives on Tuesday. The administration’s suggestions “also provide procedures for alerting school communities when civil law enforcement agents are confirmed on school grounds while protecting individual privacy” and for updating student emergency contacts.
Policies and guidance for licensed and state-funded childcare centers, family childcare homes, school-aged childcare programs and group care facilities came from the Department of Early Education and Care. EEC also partnered with the Massachusetts Office for Refugees and Immigrants to provide “Know Your Rights” training for the early education and care sector, including information about immigrant and refugee rights, available legal resources and interactions with immigration and law enforcement officers.
When Healey signed the law in Chelsea, the city’s manager said it offered relief to many in the community who have been afraid to go to work, school, and other locations for fear of running into ICE agents. Chelsea has among the highest foreign-born populations in Massachusetts, with U.S. Census numbers showing about 46% of the city’s residents are immigrants.
“We in the city have seen the cost of that fear: empty classroom seats, neighbors who have left the state, businesses that have shuttered, and trust broken between residents and our institutions that are meant to protect them,” Fidel Maltez, Chelsea’s city manager, said.
House Speaker Ron Mariano, a former teacher, said “dangerous and illegal actions taken by federal immigration agents have immigrants in Massachusetts living in fear as they go about their daily lives, including when they bring their children to school.” He said the new law and the guidance for schools “are about ensuring that the Commonwealth is doing everything it can to preserve schools as safe spaces for learning, rather than allowing them to become opportunities for warrantless harassment and detainment.”
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW