Issue Watch #19 – ICE Response and Preparation, Walk to the Hill, and Governor’s Budget
Welcome back to the 2026 edition of Issue Watch! No new features or anything, but I have plenty to catch you up on. Last week alone was a whirlwind, with Walk to the Hill, a state-budget plan, and the introduction of new legislation to protect courthouses and other public spaces from ICE incursions in anticipation of a potential enforcement surge. The budget will take months to sort out (before the new fiscal year starts in July), but the time to enact protection for residents from detention is now.
BBA Speaks Out Against DHS Actions, Welcomes Governor’s Bill in Response
Last week, in the aftermath of the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, the BBA condemned those actions and called out the Department of Homeland Security—which oversees ICE—for exercising unchecked authority and running roughshod over the rule of Law, with BBA President Suma Nair saying:
What is happening in Minnesota and in other cities around our country should alarm every lawyer in Massachusetts. The erosion of constitutional rights in one jurisdiction inevitably threatens civil liberties everywhere….We urge attorneys, judges, lawmakers, and the public to demand the immediate appointment of an independent prosecutor to lead an impartial investigation … and swift disciplinary action where violations of law or policy occurred.”
And on Thursday, Governor Healey presented new legislation to protect residents from warrantless civil arrests in sensitive locations (hat tip to Sen. Lydia Edwards and the Black & Latino Caucus, who had each proposed a similar measure as well). The BBA has long opposed such enforcement actions in courthouses, so we were pleased to see those facilities included in the legislation.
In our statement, President Suma Nair said:
The BBA supports legislation that reinforces long-standing protections for courthouses and other essential institutions. Courts must be places where people can seek justice without fear. The fairness and integrity of our legal system are undermined when individuals are deterred from appearing in court.
Boston is home to vibrant immigrant communities that should be free to learn, practice their faith, access health care, and appear in court without intimidation or threat of violence. These safeguards are both necessary and urgent when core principles of due process and accountability are being disregarded.
More from the Governor on that ICE legislation here—including a bonus quote from Suma!
Further Information on Immigration Enforcement
Our partners at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI) and the Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) have created guidance to prepare immigrants and their employers for ICE interactions. MLRI also put together guidance about the Governor’s executive order on immigration, which accompanied her filing of legislation (above).
We are also mindful that while the federal government’s temporary protected status (TPS) for an estimated 45,000 Haitians in Massachusetts (and hundreds of thousands nationwide), which was scheduled to end today, has been put on hold by a judge, the government will likely appeal that order. (See our condemnation of attacks on the Haitian community during the last Presidential campaign.) For now, all Haitians on TPS continue to have lawful status and are work-authorized, and employers can and should continue to employ them.
Please share all of this information with your clients and your networks so that immigrants and their employers can be as prepared as possible. Information specific to the employment context can be found here and here.
Walk to the Hill
Walk to the Hill Draws Hundreds to Advocate for Civil Legal Aid
Hundreds of attorneys gathered at the State House in frigid conditions last week to advocate for greater state funding for MLAC, the Commonwealth’s largest funder of legal-services providers, as part of the 27th
Annual Walk to the Hill. At the event, BBA President Suma V. Nair emphasized to attendees that civil legal aid is urgently needed to ensure that our most vulnerable community members have access to basic necessities.
Participants then fanned out to make the case for MLAC to their individual legislators—including Suma and BBA President-Elect Mark Fleming, who visited their respective State Senators (Pat Jehlen and Cynthia Stone Creem) and Representatives (Marjorie Decker and Tommy Vitolo), all of whom have been supportive of this line-item in the past.
Thanks to all of you who braved the cold to take part—especially our guests for the annual pre-Walk breakfast at 16 Beacon Street! There is still time for us to urge lawmakers to match the full request—and for you to contact your own state legislators to ask them to make MLAC one of their budget priorities.
MLAC is the largest funder of legal-services providers in the Commonwealth, 16 of which rely on the support that this state appropriation makes possible. More money means more low-income residents have a shot at staying in their homes, obtaining health care, getting educational services, and receiving federal benefits—all of which means that it more than pays for itself. Use these talking points to make your own case to MLAC.
Governor’s Budget Offers a Baseline for BBA Priorities
On the same day as Walk to the Hill, Governor Maura Healey released her budget proposal. We learned that she is recommending a $1 million increase in MLAC’s appropriation, to $52 million. This is short of the $2 million that we are seeking, but nevertheless a good start to the budget cycle.
Similar news on other BBA funding priorities: The budget—which now goes to the Legislature for their consideration—would also increase the judiciary’s funding by more than three percent—again, not quite what the Trial Court was asking for, but a base on which to build as discussions move forward. The BBA will continue to urge legislators to provide adequate appropriations to allow the courts to at least maintain current levels of service at a time when they are facing unprecedented security challenges and higher fixed costs resulting from technology upgrades to benefit all court users.
The Access to Counsel Program for evictions cases would see level-funding of $2.5 million under the Governor’s plan. That’s enough to keep it going, but—as part of the coalition backing this effort—we will continue to argue for an increase to $4 million, to push us further toward the goal of addressing an overwhelming imbalance in who has legal representation in these cases.
We appreciate the Governor’s continuing support on these items, even in the face of highly challenging headwinds, from the economy and from the federal government.
News from the Courts
BBA Meetings with Juvenile and Probate & Family Court Heads
Catching you up now on our yearly meetings with leadership of all the courts in Massachusetts: Since last we spoke, BBA President Suma Nair met with Chief Justices Brian Dunn of the Probate & Family Court and Dana Gershengorn of the Juvenile Court. Each of these meetings was before the state-budget cycle kicked off in earnest with the release of the Governor’s budget (see above), and both expressed concern about the dire consequences if the Trial Court’s appropriation were to fall short of the need.
In addition, Chief Justice Gershengorn said she’d like to see more judges from the North Shore on the Juvenile Court bench, and that they continue to experience shortages of available attorneys in Western Mass. She hopes to see juvenile law attract more law-school graduates. Chief Justice Dunn told us about an initiative that has dramatically increased compliance with reporting requirements in guardianship and conservatorship matters but added that the Probate & Family Court needs more volunteers willing to be available to field questions from self-represented litigants—not for representation but merely quick guidance and direction.
Upcoming Discussion on Federal Criminal Matters
The U.S. District Court for Massachusetts will be hosting an in-person forum about criminal matters from 4 to 6pm on February 26th at the Moakley Courthouse. Judges from the Court will answer questions about cutting-edge legal issues from a panel of criminal practitioners—including reps from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Federal Defender’s Office, plus current BBA Council member Young Paik and former member Natashia Tidwell.
A reception with the judges will follow the panel discussion. Register here. And watch for a corresponding event for civil matters on Tuesday, April 14, with details on that event to be circulated later this winter.
New SJC Appointments to the Access to Justice Commission
The SJC announced six new appointments to the Access to Justice Commission, with Commission co-chair (and former BBA President) Lisa Goodheart saying, “They collectively strengthen the Commission with their wide range of experience in working with the courts, legal aid organizations, and community groups to address the needs of people who cannot afford counsel to assist them with issues involving housing, domestic violence, and other challenges.” New members include former BBA Council member Sandy Moskowitz of Davis Malm and former BBA PILP member Kate Barry of GBLS.
Meanwhile, with so much else happening the past few weeks (see above), it seems the Governor and the Governor’s Council took pity on your humble correspondent: I have only two new judicial nominations (and no new confirmations) to report on…
LaKeshia Parker Small was nominated to the Juvenile Court. She has served for two years as assistant clerk magistrate in Norfolk Juvenile Court, conducting probable-cause hearings, facilitating courtroom sessions, assembling records for cases on appeal, and handling other magisterial duties. Attorney Parker Small began her legal career in 2008 as a Suffolk County ADA, before spending nearly a decade as assistant regional counsel at the Department of Children and Families, where she litigated child welfare on behalf of the state and conducted hundreds of hearings and trials pertaining to custody and termination of parental rights. An alumna of Boston University Law School, she also worked in private practice, representing residential landlords in landlord/tenant matters, and handling matters pertaining to family law and domestic relations.
Craig Mulcahey was nominated to the District Court. He has been in private practice for more than two decades—first with the Law Office of Michael Doolin in Dorchester and since 2011 as a solo practitioner—litigating criminal and civil matters in the District and Superior Courts and handling post-conviction work in the Massachusetts Appeals Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, while also working as a bar advocate through Suffolk Lawyers for Justice. Prior to that, he was an ADA in both Norfolk and Suffolk Counties—including time as a school-violence prosecutor working with school personnel to address at-risk students and reduce school crime—and a residential child-care worker in Needham. He holds a law degree from Suffolk University Law School.
There you go. Mind you, I don’t believe in Groundhog Day. (The “holiday”, that is—I do believe in the movie.) But I did see my own shadow yesterday, which I believe means we have at least six more weeks of this seemingly non-stop news vortex in store. Am I right or am I right? Bing!
