Last week, Governor Maura Healey signed The PROTECT Act, enacting a state law that prohibits “warrantless immigrant arrests at courthouses, schools, child care centers, and health care facilities, including hospitals, community health centers and nursing homes,” according to a state government press release.
“The PROTECT Act is the strongest law in the country to protect people from ICE, because no one should be afraid to send their child to school, seek medical care or fear reporting a crime or appearing in court,” Healey says in the press release.
Commenting on the new law, Education Secretary Steve Zrike said, “As a superintendent and teacher, I’ve seen how deeply a child’s sense of safety and belonging shapes their ability to learn. The PROTECT Act helps ensure that early education programs and K-12 schools remain welcoming places where every child can feel safe, build confidence, and thrive. That sense of belonging is essential to educational opportunity and to the strength of our communities.”
What does the new state law specifically mean for child care programs? You can see the original guidance that the Executive Office of Education issued in May 2026: Recommendations For Entities Providing Education and Child Care Services Related to Interacting with Federal Immigration Officers. The Department of Early Education and Care will share more updates in the weeks ahead. For additional questions, please contact Eugenia Soiles at eugenia.soiles@mass.gov.
In addition to the new law, Massachusetts has “opened a portal for residents to report alleged ICE misconduct,” according to a CommonWealth Beacon article.
There is, however, some debate over where the boundaries lie between state laws and federal law. As the CommonWealth Beacon article notes:
“Researchers at the University of Wisconsin’s State Democracy Research Initiative reviewed various state actions to limit ICE, including Massachusetts’s PROTECT Act and similar laws in other states. Based on previous cases and the Trump administration’s posture so far, researchers said they expect that the federal government could argue that its immigration powers should pre-empt most if not all state attempts to limit their power. Officials in Massachusetts say this falls squarely within [the] state’s right to regulate for the public welfare.”
That’s why, the article adds, “a call about ICE should be to a lawyer, not the police. The new law is explicit about what local police are not required to do. They don’t have to interfere with ICE, and the statute gives them no authority to enforce the bans. That job belongs to the courts after the fact.”
Nonetheless, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell praises the new law, saying, “The PROTECT Act strengthens protections for our residents in the face of the aggressive tactics employed by ICE—tactics that do not enhance public safety and instead spread fear among families and our communities. I am grateful to Governor Healey and the Legislature for enacting these critical protections into law. Immigrants are an essential part of our communities, workplaces, and economy, and we will continue to use every tool available to defend their rights.”