ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE

Local and state actions:

  • Tell lawmakers: SUPPORT THE LOCATION SHIELD ACT IN 2025: To protect children, domestic abuse victims, abortion patients and providers, trans people and their families, journalists, elected officials, immigrants, and everyone else, Massachusetts needs to pass the Location Shield Act. Contact legislators and ask them to support the Location Shield Act https://www.aclum.org/en/ban-sale-location-data
  • TIME SENSITIVE! SUBMIT TESTIMONY TO OPPOSE XIARHOS ‘HALO’ LEGISLATIONWe learned from Liv (ACLU MA) that State Rep Steve Xiahros has filed a bill that requires people to keep 25 feet away from ICE or any law enforcement, making taking videos very difficult. ICE and the feds are trying to get bills like this passed in state houses across the country. They are describing it as “protecting first responders from interference with their duties.” Testimony is being accepted until THIS Thursday, November 20. See the sample TESTIMONY HERE. Online Testimony will be accepted until Thursday, November 20 at 5:00 PM. To submit testimony online you need to first create an account for MyLegislature and follow these instructions.  If you already have an account click here.You can also email or mail testimony:For House bills: Talia.Quinn@mahouse.gov  For Senate bills: Christianna.Golden@masenate.gov Joint Committee Chairs and Co-chairs  Lydia.Edwards@masenate.gov,  James.Eldridge@masenate.gov,  christianna.golden@masenate.gov,  Michael.Day@mahouse.gov,  Brandy.FlukerReid@mahouse.gov,  talia.quinn@mahouse.govCC: State Rep Steven Xiarhos Steven.Xiarhos@mahouse.gov who is one of the presenters, and Michelle Badger Michelle.Badger@mahouse.gov of South Plymouth who co-sponsored it.Mail:  Joint Committee on the Judiciary24 Beacon Street, Room 136Boston, MA 02133 Sample text: To the Joint Committee on the Judiciary:I am writing in strong opposition to H.2057 (HALO Act). This bill would unlawfully limit the public’s right to record ICE and law-enforcement activity in public, a right clearly protected under the First Amendment (Glik v. Cunniffe, 1st Cir. 2011). Public recordings have exposed racial profiling, excessive force, and civil rights abuses. Curtailing that right would erode trust and transparency in government.Please give H.2057 an “ought not to pass” recommendation and affirm Massachusetts’ commitment to open government and civil liberties.And of course you can always email Steve Xiarhos, sponsor and presenter of this bill designed to protect ICE from being recorded
  • Please help us pass a Yarmouth Resolution supporting the civil liberties, safety, and human rights of all residents and visitors!  We helped to do this in Barnstable, let’s do it in Yarmouth!On Tuesday, Dec. 2nd, 6pm, at the Yarmouth Town Hall (1146 Route 28, South Yarmouth), the Yarmouth Selectboard will be considering and voting upon a proposed resolution sponsored by a group of Yarmouth residents (“Yarmouth For Everyone!”) that will reaffirm our town values and send an important message to our immigrant neighbors that each and every one is a valued and vital part of our community.  The resolution (below) is similar to the resolution unanimously passed by the Barnstable Town Council this past August (and that Dennis residents are also working to pass in their town).  As for the Barnstable town meeting, it is essential that residents of Yarmouth and the Mid-Cape area turn out to strongly support this resolution.  Please plan to attend on Dec. 2nd and speak at the meeting (whether or not you live in Yarmouth), especially if you have stories and experiences to share of your own and/or in support of our immigrant neighbors in Yarmouth and the Mid-Cape area.  Questions?? Contact Susan Gregory-Davis (MCIRC), susangregorydavis@gmail.com.   Proposed Resolution:
          The Yarmouth Selectboard does hereby affirm the Town of Yarmouth’s commitment to the values of freedom, justice, and equality for all Yarmouth residents and visitors and to supporting residents and visitors in leading lives of peace and dignity free from fear, harassment, and violence, and to the end, further resolves that the Town of Yarmouth and its officials and employees shall:     Continue to comply with all applicable provisions of state and federal law, including the Massachusetts Constitution, which guarantees equal protection of the laws to all people, regardless of nationality, citizenship, or immigration status; and      Continue to protect the civil liberties, safety, and human rights of all Yarmouth residents and visitors regardless of age, race, religion, ethnicity, ability, sexual and gender identity, marital, or economic status, citizenship, and immigration status.
  • Tell Massachusetts Lawmakers: Don’t let ICE deputize local police: Trump’s deportation machine has brought nothing but fear and chaos to our communities – so the last thing we need is local law enforcement going out of their way to assist ICE. So-called “287(g) agreements” allow for precisely that, allowing the federal government to deputize local officials as ICE agents.Don’t let local cops become tools of ICE. Tell your lawmakers to support legislation that will end 287(g) agreements in Massachusetts!
  • MORE INFO AND TAKE ACTION HERE
  • LOCAL ACTION YOU CAN TAKE VIA INDIVISIBLE: Email Your City or County Council About Trump’s Secret Police The rise of masked law enforcement and ICE overreach is a local emergency, not just a federal one. City and county officials have the power to act—by banning secret police tactics, cutting off ICE cooperation, and strengthening sanctuary protections. Send an email now to demand your local leaders step up and protect your community.
  • It’s (Still) Time for Same Day Voter Registration! Thousands of Massachusetts voters are STILL unable to participate in our state elections due to unnecessary barriers to participation, like the arbitrary ten-day voter registration cutoff, becoming an inactive voter for failing to return a municipal census, and other administrative errors that voters don’t learn about until they arrive at their polling location. The state legislature has the power to change this by passing Same Day Registration (SDR) to ensure that ALL eligible voters can cast a ballot that counts.

NEW RESOURCES FOR IMMIGRANTS

  • CHRONICLING 25 YRS OF VIOLATIONS: A study of the Plymouth County Correctional Facility ICE holding conditions done by Boston University School of Law’s Immigrants’ Rights and Human Trafficking Program (“IRHTP”) and Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts (“PLS”). The IRHTP team included Sarah Sherman-Stokes, Clinical Associate Professor and Associate Director of IRHTP, and Boston University law students Gabriela Chavez (‘26) and Kristen Cain (‘26). The PLS team included attorney Leah Hastings and legal intern, Katrina Weinert.
  • Join the fight for Safe Communities! There’s no time to waste. A climate of fear has taken hold in our communities that leads many immigrant families to avoid seeking police protection or even health care when they need it. This makes us all less safe. We need to push hard to ensure the Safe Communities Act passes this year. That means legislators need to keep hearing us week after week, until we succeed.

Legal help resources for immigrants:

More resources for immigrants:

  • IMPORTANT COLLECTIVE RESOURCE ALERT! MIRA COALITION HAS PUT TOGETHER A TOOLKIT LIST OF WAYS YOU CAN HELP MA IMMIGRANTS – The Protecting Our Immigrant Communities (POIC) Campaign is rooted in a simple yet powerful belief: all individuals, regardless of immigration status, deserve dignity, safety, and equal protection under the law. Through unity and collaboration, we will achieve this shared vision of justice for immigrants across Massachusetts. Together, we will defend immigrant rights, challenge discrimination, and secure a future where every community member is free from fear, exploitation, and abuse. BOOK MARK OR DOWNLOAD THIS PAGE

GUNS:

  • Tell Congress: Oppose the Federal Concealed Carry Mandate: Our lawmakers should be focused on passing policies that keep us safe—but instead, they’re considering legislation that would gut our life-saving gun laws.H.R. 38 and S. 65 would create a new federal mandate that would force every state to recognize every other state’s standards for carrying a concealed and loaded gun in public—including states with weak or no standards at all. This legislation puts all of our communities at risk. Contact your legislators now.
  • Tell your U.S. Representative and Senators: Stop bad gun dealers! Our lawmakers must act now to hold the gun industry accountable by passing the Federal Firearm Licensee Act (FFLA). This bill holds gun dealers to a higher standard when it comes to selling guns to prevent them from getting into the wrong hands and to keep our communities safe. It strengthens the laws that gun dealers must follow—like background checks, recordkeeping and security, and inspection requirements—and ensures that bad actors in the industry are held accountable. The bill raises the bar for gun dealers and protects our public safety. Contact your legislators now.
  • Tell Congress to Pass an Assault Weapons Ban Now: There’s often a common thread in mass shootings that makes them even deadlier: the use of an assault weapon—a weapon designed to kill as many people as possible as quickly as possible. Our children have a right not to be gunned down at school. We have a right to be in public without being shot. These tragedies don’t have to be our norm. Contact your legislators now.