Will the Bay State be joining California as an official sanctuary state when it comes to cooperating with immigration authorities? That proposal appeared to be dead in Massachusetts last summer, but like a zombie, it’s rising from the grave for another walk around the block this month. The Boston Globe reports that the state’s police chiefs, formerly opponents of the measure, have been lured into supporting it by adjusting the bill so it’s not quite so strict in terms of dealing with ICE.
The state’s top police chiefs have breathed new life — and new controversy — into a bill that would limit state and local law enforcement’s cooperation with federal immigration authorities by endorsing a revised version of legislation that would turn Massachusetts into a so-called sanctuary state.
The Safe Communities Act, sponsored by Representative Juana Matias of Lawrence and Senator Jamie Eldridge of Acton, had been criticized by law enforcement and by Governor Charlie Baker, who has said he opposes the bill.
But after working with the sponsors on a compromise, the police chiefs officially endorsed a revised version of the bill Tuesday.