Happy New Year! 

It was an upsetting news week for many of us, so I’ll start with some positives before getting to the Scoop. 

First of all, we at Act on Mass owe you all a HUGE thank you following our end-of-year fundraiser. With your contributions, we raised almost $11,000 before New Years, soundly beating our goal of $10,000. These funds will allow us to start 2026 on strong footing and launch some exciting initiatives we’re working on this year… details to follow! Our movement is people-powered: we cannot do this without your backing. To all those who contributed, thank you for your support! 

Second, some other good news: stipend reform cleared the signature threshold to advance towards the 2026 ballot! Actually, our stipend reform ballot question clocked the most confirmed signatures of all 11 questions certified, turning in 96,797 signatures! This was 20,000+ more than required, showing the depth of public enthusiasm for this important reform. 

The certified petitions will now move to the legislature, which gets the chance to act on the policies themselves and avoid a ballot question. Be sure to read Syd’s Sprinkles for more details about the certified questions! If the legislature chooses not to take action by May, campaigns will have a month to gather 12,000 more signatures. The stipend reform campaign will need all hands on deck come May, so make sure to sign up at stipendreform.com to stay in the loop. 

Lastly, we are in planning stages for our activities this year and I’d like to make one last pitch for feedback on 2025! Help Act on Mass shape our 2026 goals by letting us know what worked for you this year and what didn’t. Thank you!

FILL OUT OUR FEEDBACK FORM>>

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State House Scoop

ICE is a danger to our communities. What can our state leaders do about it? 

For years now, organizers in Massachusetts have been sounding the alarm that ICE is a danger to our communities, a threat that has only escalated under the Trump administration. 

In March, national attention was drawn to our state with the terrifying abduction of Tufts grad student Rümeysa Öztürk by plainclothes ICE agents for her op-ed in a school newspaper, a disturbing violation of constitutional rights. In May and September, the Trump administration launched immigration “surges” in Massachusetts, targeting the state for the "sanctuary" policies of cities like Boston. By ICE’s own reporting, fewer than half of the thousands detained in the Commonwealth had criminal records, and an even smaller number had been convicted.   

During these “surges,” ICE repeatedly employed violent tactics like smashing car windows, including a case in New Bedford where the detainee had no criminal record and was later freed. In MA’s immigrant communities, the sense of fear and intimidation is palpable. School enrollment has dropped as children are afraid to go to school for fear of ICE action. One activist in Marlborough said this week: “People aren't getting food from the food bank. Kids aren't learning. Parents aren't able to work… It just changes the entire dynamic of the city.” 

Throughout a full year of the Trump administration targeting Massachusetts (and other blue states like IL and CA) for intensified ICE actions, the response from our state leaders has been disappointing. Democratic Governor Healey praised Trump’s “tightening” of the U.S. border and touted the state’s “regular working relationship with ICE.” Legislative leaders lamented the “fear” felt by their constituents but said in September that they weren’t prepared to take state action. Spoiler alert: the year ended, and they didn’t. 

Amid inaction from our state government, local governments and groups of neighbors have jumped into action. Cities and towns have passed or upheld their own policies to clarify the interaction of local law enforcement with ICE. Neighborhood “ICE watch” groups have sprung up from East Boston to Framingham to Springfield, updating the LUCE hotline, notifying their communities of ICE’s movements, and ensuring ICE’s conduct is witnessed and documented. 

This week, in response to a racist right-wing media narrative that blamed Somali immigrants for fraud cases, the Trump administration took the “ICE surge” playbook to Minnesota. 2,000 federal agents were deployed to Minneapolis this week. Just like in Massachusetts, local groups in Minnesota snapped to action, organizing “neighborhood patrols” to “track, monitor and record ICE operations.” One of those volunteers was a 37-year-old woman named Renee Good. On Wednesday, an ICE agent shot and killed Good in a senseless act of violence. 

This violence is part of a pattern of abuse of power by ICE agents, whose cruelty is both weaponized and shielded from accountability by the Trump administration. In 2025, 32 people died in ICE custody, marking the agency's deadliest year in two decades. Renee Good was at least the 16th person shot by ICE and the fourth person killed since January 2025. When the administration inevitably directs their ire toward another blue state, agents currently terrorizing high schools in Minneapolis are likely to be sent across the country to frighten new communities. Though hundreds of miles away, our safety in Massachusetts is inextricably linked with the federal government's violence in Minnesota. 

The events of this week have prompted condemnation from state leaders in Massachusetts. Senate President Karen Spilka characterized Good’s murder as “the direct result of the Trump Administration's dangerous, inhumane and anti-American policies.” Governor Healey shared her condolences on social media, writing “ICE’s dangerous, aggressive tactics don’t make us safer. Just the opposite. This has to stop.” 

While it might feel like we’re helpless against these government forces, brave neighbors from Minneapolis to East Boston have shown us otherwise. In Massachusetts, we can make sure that our state officials follow up these words with action. There are actions that the legislature and the Governor could take right now to reduce ICE’s power in Massachusetts and protect our communities from violence. Let’s talk about a few of them. 

1) Limit ICE access to courthouses and make it clear that state officials cannot help ICE

In December, excellent reporting by WBUR highlighted the growing threat of ICE at Massachusetts court houses: “ICE agents are staking out local courthouses. As they've roamed the halls, Mass. court arrests tripled.” Suffolk County DA Kevin Hayden reported that ICE presence has had a “chilling effect” on public safety: not only are defendants being detained mid-trial, but the presence of immigration agents has scared victims and witnesses away, impeding court proceedings. 

Reminder: current Massachusetts law is still unclear about the extent to which state officials can cooperate with ICE. In a 2017 decision, the Supreme Judicial Court recommended legislative action to provide clarity, but the legislature has declined to update our immigration laws. Therefore, the presence of ICE in courthouses is currently governed by internal policies set by the Massachusetts Trial Court. Updated in 2025, this procedure clarifies that “Trial Court personnel shall neither assist nor impede ICE officers or employees in detaining a person.” 

Just this Thursday, in a chilling echo of the events in Minneapolis, an MA “ICE watch” volunteer found herself at risk as she documented a violent arrest in an East Boston courthouse. As she recorded an unnamed man being slammed to the ground by ICE agents, a trial court officer seized her phone and deleted the video, citing rules against filming inside the courthouse. The officer then tried to force her to unlock her “Recently Deleted” folder and took her unlocked phone to a back room, where it was out of sight for 20 minutes. The trial court has since confirmed that the incident violated the “neither assist nor impede” policy, although it is unclear if any consequences will result. 

Incidents like these, where violence intersects with invasion of privacy, highlight the need for state policy. Massachusetts could follow the examples of Illinois and Connecticut, which now require ICE agents to present a warrant signed by a judge before making a courthouse arrest. Illinois’ new set of laws go even further, establishing 1000-foot “buffer zones” around state courthouses where civil arrests are not allowed, also boosting protections at day cares, colleges, and hospitals. 

Our state leaders also need to stop kicking the can down the road: we need to update our state laws to clarify interactions of state officials and ICE agents, making it clear that state resources cannot be used for immigration enforcement. Relying on a patchwork of court procedure and municipal ordinances to govern this issue is insufficient and will only lead to more instances like Thursday in East Boston. If our state leaders truly want to “stop” ICE’s “dangerous, aggressive tactics,” they need put the strength of state enforcement on the issue by passing the Safe Communities Act (H.2580/S.1681) and Dignity Not Deportations Act (H.1588/S.1122) immediately. Make sure your legislator hears from you!

TELL YOUR LEGISLATOR: STATE ACTION TO STOP ICE>>

2) Expedite new data privacy legislation 

As the incident in East Boston highlights, ICE’s actions are propped up by a web of privacy violations and dragnet surveillance that put everyone’s constitutional rights at risk. 

New reporting this week from 404 Media revealed that ICE has bought access to a surveillance system “designed to monitor a city neighborhood or block for mobile phones, track the movements of those devices and their owners over time, and follow them from their places of work to home or other locations”—without the need for a warrant. This location data is provided by sketchy third-party sellers who sell your sensitive data at a profit. It places anyone with a phone at risk of tracing by ICE, an appalling violation of our constitutional rights that could supercharge the lawless agency’s efforts to target our streets and neighborhoods. 

Luckily, a policy response to this issue is already in the works in Massachusetts. Last year, our State Senate passed a comprehensive data privacy bill that would, among other provisions, ban the sale of “precise geolocation data” from personal devices. Senators approved an amendment that would extend this protection to anyone located within the state of Massachusetts, ensuring that everyone in our state would be protected from ICE’s new intrusive tool. 

The House voted a similar bill out of committee in November (H.4746), but it has sat in Ways & Means since then. Meanwhile, huge tech companies are currently lobbying our legislators to kill the bill. Your rep should hear from you: we cannot allow legislative inaction to empower ICE! Your state rep must urge members of House Ways & Means to move the bill out of committee and approve it on the floor of the House, to protect our communities before ICE can deploy this new technology.

TELL YOUR REP: NO PHONE DATA FOR ICE>>

While the Trump administration tries to divide us, we are strongest when we stand together against violence and secrecy. Together, we can organize neighbors to protect our most vulnerable community members. Together, we can hold our state leaders accountable to guarantee that state resources are used for us, not against us. Act on Mass is proud to stand with you in that effort. 

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Syd's Sprinkles: What can Massachusetts do about ICE?

Massachusetts is advancing a record-breaking 11 ballot questions and 1 referendum to the ballot for the state’s 2026 election. Advocates and voters have a multitude of concerns surrounding such a hefty ballot. These questions cover issues including government transparency, rent control, same-day voter registration, and stipend reform – which we have worked on here at Act on Mass along with allies. 

With an infamously ineffective Legislature that fails to prioritize common-sense, progressive bills each session, ballot initiatives have become a leading way for advocates to have their priorities addressed in the state. However, these ballot initiatives do not come without their own problems.  

High among the concerns of voters, advocates, and election officials are voter turnout and ballot collection. Given how many ballot questions are anticipated to be on the 2026 ballot, there are concerns that voters will neglect to vote for every question. There is also a chance that each voter will have multiple ballot cards to fill out given the amount of ballot questions, which complicates ballot deposit logistics for voters and poll workers. 

There are also real costs that come as a result of this many ballot initiatives in a single election. 

Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin has estimated the need for an additional $5 million to cover logistical costs for the 2026 election due to the number of ballot question [paywall]. 

As an explanation for the high number of questions, Secretary Galvin has called out the Legislature’s inaction himself, saying that, “...people have decided that, apparently, whatever the cost of getting the signature is to get on the ballot, it’s probably a more efficient use of their resources,” as opposed to trying to address an issue through the Legislature.

Why? As Secretary Galvin has put it, “The common theme here is that these are activities that the legislature has not supported. So it’s not so much that the voters are dreaming up ideas, it’s that the legislature has resisted these.” 

Still, legislators on Beacon Hill seem to believe that they are not part of the problem. While there are examples of the Legislature taking action to pass laws that address issues in an effort to limit the amount questions on the ballot and therefore limit the strain placed on voters, it does not look like there is much motivation to pass no-brainer bills to address issues such as same-day voter registration (which already exist and are currently waiting for further action in the Legislature). 

Like same-day voter registration, many of the ballot questions that will potentially be on the 2026 ballot are ones that the Legislature has the ability to pass as laws. However, due to the Legislature’s increasing disregard for the priorities of constituents and advocates, costly and complicated alternatives are increasingly becoming the status quo.

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What we're reading this week

Some other stories from local and regional news: 

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Missed a Scoop or two? You can find a full archive of all past Saturday Scoops on our blog.

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Take Action

"We keep us safe": save LUCE hotline to report ICE sightings in your neighborhood

Help keep your own neighborhood safe by keeping an eye out for ICE vehicles and reporting sightings to the LUCE hotline. LUCE can also connect you to groups doing ICE watch in your area for training. Check out their website today! 

WE PROTECT US: EXPLORE LUCE RESOURCES>>

Tell your legislators: take action to protect Massachusetts' tax code from Trump cuts!

The Big Beautiful Bill passed by Congress this year makes devastating cuts to SNAP and Medicaid benefits to pay for massive tax cuts to Trump's billionaire friends. If Massachusetts doesn't act to "decouple" our state tax code from these federal changes, they will cost the state as much as $1 billion in annual tax revenue. Legislators need to act now to protect state programs. Tell them today!

TELL YOUR STATE REPS: NO BBB FOR MA>>

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That's the Scoop. I hope you get the chance to take care of yourself and loved ones this week. In dark times, we need each other the most. Thank you for reading. 

In solidarity,

Scotia

Scotia Hille (she/her)

Executive Director, Act on Mass