Addressing the Massachusetts Due Process Emergency
Massachusetts is confronting a due-process crisis of statewide scale: an estimated 6% of the Commonwealth’s residents—about 442,000 people—are undocumented or live with an undocumented family member and are therefore vulnerable to immigration enforcement actions that often proceed without judicial warrants or bond hearings.
During the first year of Covid in 2020, about 5% of the Massachusetts population got infected. This galvanized the governor and legislature to action, and a number of emergency actions were initiated. Our current crisis demands the same response.
Immigration enforcement that violates basic legal rights puts 6% of the State’s population at risk, but our legislature is not acting like there is a crisis.