BOSTON – House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. (R-North Reading) is calling for a change in state law that would allow Massachusetts courts to honor detainer requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials for individuals arrested for violent crimes who might otherwise be released from custody.
Representative Jones and Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester), along with several House and Senate colleagues, filed Senate Docket 3490, An Act to enhance the authority of courts to protect public safety. The bill seeks to address a critical deficiency in current state laws by specifically authorizing the courts to keep dangerous criminals who are considered removable aliens by ICE in custody for up to 12 hours if the individual is subject to an ICE detainer and is deemed to pose a threat to public safety.
Jones said the bill establishes specific criteria to help judges determine if an individual represents a threat to the public. It focuses on those individuals who have been convicted of serious crimes such as murder, rape, domestic violence, and narcotics or human trafficking.
The filing of the bill comes after two recent media reports involving non-citizens who were subject to an ICE detainer but were not held by the courts. One case involved a 38-year-old Guatemalan national who was in the country illegally but was released by a Middlesex Superior Court judge after being arraigned on charges of aggravated rape of a child with force and attempted rape of a child by force. The second case involved another non-citizen from Guatemala who was convicted in Gloucester District Court for indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and assault and battery.
“Cooperation from our court officials in honoring federal ICE detainer requests is critical to keeping the public safe and taking dangerous criminals off our streets,” said Jones. “The fact that a 38-year-old Guatemalan national who is in the country illegally was allowed to walk free following his arraignment on charges of forcible rape of a minor provides a glaring example of why our laws must change. By explicitly authorizing Massachusetts courts to honor ICE detainer requests, this legislation will help to protect the public and will formally address the serious shortcoming in our laws identified by the SJC’s 2017 Lunn decision.”
In its Lunn v. Commonwealth ruling, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court determined that current state law does not provide the authority for court officials to honor ICE detainer requests for individuals otherwise entitled to release, leaving it up to the Legislature to provide and define such authority.
“The recent failure to hold a dangerous individual due to a lack of clear legal authority highlights why action is urgently needed,” said Tarr. “This legislation offers a practical and reasonable solution to ensure dangerous criminals are not prematurely released by ensuring that court officers have the clear legal authority to detain individuals who pose serious threats to public safety while also preserving essential judicial oversight.”
The bill would require Massachusetts judges to take into consideration any detainer requests received from ICE when setting bail. If ICE provides a written request stating probable cause that the individual appearing before the court is a removable alien and is the subject of an arrest or removal/deportation warrant, the judge may withhold bail until ICE acts on the request.
It would also require any judge who denies an ICE detainer request to file a written explanation with the court clerk detailing their reasons for denying the request. This written decision would be considered a public record, but the bill would maintain privacy protections by allowing for the redaction of the names of victims or minors.
