BOSTON (AP) — A group of Massachusetts taxpayers represented by civil rights attorneys has filed a lawsuit seeking to end an agreement between the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that gives local officers the power to enforce federal immigration laws.
The suit was filed Thursday by Lawyers for Civil Rights and Rights Behind Bars with the Supreme Judicial Court, the state’s highest court, The Boston Globe reported Friday.
“There is no statutory foundation empowering a sheriff to sign a contract to enforce federal civil immigration law, nor is there any basis in the state constitution or common law for such authority,” the lawsuit says.
Barnstable is the only county in Massachusetts where the sheriff — who oversees the county jail — has such an agreement with ICE.
Bristol and Plymouth counties had similar agreements. But the Plymouth County sheriff withdrew from the deal in September, and last May, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security ended its deal with the Bristol County sheriff.
The agreements allowed the sheriffs’ offices to designate staff members for training and certification in federal immigration enforcement and give them the authority to interrogate any detained person “who the officer believes” may be an undocumented immigrant, serve and execute warrants for arrest or removal, and transport immigrants to ICE-approved detention facilities, according to the lawsuit.
Barnstable County Sheriff James Cummings declined to comment on the lawsuit but in an email said “we look forward to the court date.”
John Mohan, a spokesperson for ICE’s Boston field office, declined to comment because of the pending litigation.
“The state Legislature has wisely refused to authorize Massachusetts sheriffs to enter into agreements with the federal government for immigration enforcement, in light of the many serious problems caused by this entanglement,” Lawyers for Civil Rights Litigation Director Oren Sellstrom said in a statement. “Without that authority, the agreement and Sheriff Cummings’ ongoing expenditures under it are unlawful.”
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