Massachusetts keeps digging its immigration hole deeper

Published July 2, 2026 9:15am ET | Updated July 7, 2026 1:35pm ET



Gov. Maura Healey already has a dubious record on immigration. Under her watch, Massachusetts’ emergency shelter system spiraled into a more than $1 billion a year fiasco, with migrant families housed in hotels and even a shuttered prison at roughly $3,500 per family per week — all at Massachusetts’ taxpayers’ expense. She then signed orders restricting cooperation with ICE. Now she may have the chance to put her signature on even more objectionable immigration policy. 

In May, the PROTECT Act sailed through the Massachusetts Senate’s clear blue waters on a 37-3 vote. A final version is currently being negotiated. The bill restricts state and local cooperation with ICE through a plethora of questionable measures — not that Massachusetts officials and ICE were ever especially collaborative.

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