Massachusetts officers could delay people’s release for federal immigration pickup

Participating agencies would be allowed to hold people past their release time to transfer them to United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This authority would cover state and local public employees with police or sheriff powers, including municipal police, court officers, and state troopers. The person must already be in lawful custody. The agency must adopt a written policy naming the supervisors who can approve holds and the criteria they must use. Federal immigration officers must send a written detention request based on probable cause that the person can be deported, plus an administrative arrest or deportation warrant. The person must receive a copy of the request. A supervisor must first find a listed public safety ground. These include suspected terrorism or spying, national security danger, and felony convictions other than state or local crimes with immigration status as an essential element. Other grounds include convictions for active participation in a criminal street gang, certain federally defined serious crimes, domestic violence, sexual abuse or exploitation, human trafficking, burglary, unlawful firearm possession or use, drug distribution or trafficking, second or later impaired driving, or another offense with a custody sentence of at least 180 days. The hold must last a reasonable time and cannot exceed 12 hours unless a judicial officer makes the required probable cause finding.

A judicial officer would decide whether there is probable cause, meaning a reasonable basis to believe the detained person can be deported. This review would apply when the agency needs a judicial finding to continue a hold beyond 12 hours. The agency must present information under oath or penalty of perjury. The judicial officer may consider information learned after detention began. The detained person would have no right to appear or have a lawyer appear during this review. The decision must be put in writing promptly. It and all written information submitted by the agency must be filed separately from criminal cases in the local District Court and be open to public inspection. This section would not itself give people a right to sue or make an otherwise lawful arrest unlawful. When review is needed, the agency must submit the necessary information as soon as reasonably possible, no later than 12 hours after detention begins.