Civil Rights
Massachusetts laws protect you against hateful or discriminatory treatment regardless of immigration status, or whether you are a long-time resident of Massachusetts or just recently arrived. This section outlines some of your civil rights under Massachusetts laws.
If you believe your rights have been violated, if you feel threatened, or if you are afraid for your or your family's safety, please contact our Civil Rights Division.
PROTECTING YOUR RIGHTS AGAINST PREJUDICED MISTREATMENT
The Massachusetts Civil Rights Act makes it illegal for a person to interfere with your rights through threats, intimidation, or force. For example, this law prohibits someone from:
- Assaulting you because of your race or immigration status.
- Interfering with your rights while using racist or anti-immigrant threats or intimidation.
- Trying to prevent you or your family from using public parks, walking on public streets, attending school, or living peacefully in your home.
ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAWS
Massachusetts anti-discrimination laws protect residents and visitors from discrimination in areas such as housing, employment, and places that offer goods or services to the general public.
Discrimination can take many forms. Generally, Massachusetts laws make it illegal to treat someone or a group of people differently and unfavorably because of characteristics like race, national origin, skin color, physical or mental disability, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity in housing, the workplace, or public spaces.
Examples of discrimination could include:
- A landlord refuses to rent to you because you are not a citizen or because you have children.
- Your landlord charges you a higher rent because of your race.
- A real estate agent discourages you from applying for apartments in a certain neighborhood because of your national origin.
- Your employer pays you less than your coworkers because of your immigration status.
- Your employer harasses you, insults you, and makes you feel unwelcome at work based on your immigration status.
- Your employer threatens to deport you to force you to meet their demands or because you spoke up about your workplace rights.
- A bus driver tells you to move to the back of the bus because you are speaking in a language other than English.
LANGUAGE ACCESS FOR GOVERNMENT SERVICES
The Attorney General's Office provides meaningful access to its programs and services to persons who are limited in English proficiency, and persons with vision, speech, or hearing disabilities. Many other government offices, like courts, police departments, and schools, also provide interpreters when needed.
Additional Resources
Workers' Rights
Information for immigrant workers about their rights
All people are protected by Massachusetts’ labor and employment laws. At the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, we do not ask about your immigration status. We do not tolerate retaliation from employers against workers who file complaints with our office or who otherwise assert their rights.
As a worker, you have the following rights:
- The right to be paid a legal rate of pay, in full and on time, including
- Minimum Wage
- Overtime
- Prevailing wage on public works projects
- The right to be free from sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination in the workplace
- The right to a safe and healthy workplace for all workers, including minors
- The right to protections under the Child Labor laws
- The right to organize
- The right to be classified properly as an employee
In practice, this means that at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office:
- We serve all workers, irrespective of immigration status
- We do not ask about a worker’s immigration status
- We do not voluntarily provide personal information of workers to U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE)
- We do not tolerate retaliation against workers who file complaints with the Attorney General’s Office or otherwise assert their legal rights
- We assist eligible workers whose rights have been violated in seeking protection from immigration enforcement by supporting workers requests for prosecutorial discretion, and/or U or T visa certification
Workers who do not have federal work authorization are particularly susceptible to exploitive employment practices. The Fair Labor Division will continue to take appropriate enforcement action on behalf of all workers in Massachusetts. If you have any questions or need further assistance, you may contact the Fair Labor Division’s hotline using the link below.
Additional Resources
Education Rights
Your Rights
Under Massachusetts law, schools must provide equal access to education for all students from elementary school through to high school, regardless of immigration status.
This means:
- Children have a right to enroll in school and to an education that is free from illegal discrimination and harassment
- Unhoused children-including children who live in emergency shelters, hotels, and motels-also have a right to equal access to education and to immediately enroll in school.
- If a school district denies school enrollment to an unhoused child, it must provide the child's parent or guardian with a written explanation. The parent or guardian has the right to appeal the denial, and the child has the right to immediately enroll in school while the appeal is being decided.
- A parent or guardian can immediately enroll their child in a school even when they lack documents that are typically required for enrollment, like a birth certificate.
Equal access to public education means not only the right to enroll in school, but also the right to an education free from unlawful discrimination and harassment. The state and federal laws securing these rights include the following:
- The Massachusetts Student Anti-Discrimination Act provides that no person may be excluded from a public school in any town, or discriminated against with respect to obtaining the advantages, privileges, and courses of study of such public schools, on the basis of race, color, sex, gender identity, religion, national origin, or sexual orientation.
- The Massachusetts Anti-Bullying Law prohibits, among other things, bullying by students or school staff on school grounds or at school activities.
- Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin by public elementary and secondary schools.
- Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.
- The Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 requires, among other things, that schools provide English Language Learners with appropriate services to overcome language barriers that impede equal participation in instructional programs.
Schools’ Responsibilities
It is critical that school districts and officials in the Commonwealth ensure that all children have equal access to public education by:
- Allowing children to promptly enroll and attend school regardless of race, national origin, immigration status, or citizenship status
- Avoiding information requests that have the purpose or effect of discouraging or denying access to school on the basis of race, national origin, immigration status, or citizenship status
- Protecting all students from bullying and harassment on the basis of race, national origin, immigration status, or citizenship status.
Parents’ Information
The Attorney General’s Office is committed to ensuring all students have the opportunity to enroll in school and receive a quality education. In order to help make it as easy as possible to enroll your child in school, we have provided the following resources:
- Information on the Rights of All Children to Enroll in School: Questions and Answers for States, School Districts and Parents, U.S. Department of Justice & U.S. Department of Education (May 8, 2014), available here.
- Fact Sheet: Information on the Rights of All Children to Enroll in School, U.S. Department of Justice & U.S. Department of Education (May 8, 2014), available here.
- Resource Guide: Supporting Undocumented Youth, U.S. Department of Education (October 2015), available here.
- Confronting Discrimination Based on National Origin and Immigration Status, U.S. Department of Justice (August 2021), available here.
- Dear Colleague Letter from the U.S. Department of Education regarding support for Afghan children and their families (January 14, 2022), available here.
- Welcoming Newcomer and Refugee Students & Families, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (March 8, 2022), available here.
Avoiding Unauthorized Practice of Immigration Law (UPIL)
For more information about Avoiding Immigration Scams and Finding Legal Help, visit the full UPIL page here.
The unauthorized practice of immigration law is a widespread problem. Too often, dishonest individuals falsely hold themselves out as attorneys and charge hundreds or thousands of dollars for preparing forms or providing advice and services they are not qualified or authorized to perform.
The Attorney General's Office urges all Massachusetts residents to take the following precautionary steps before hiring someone to provide legal advice or representation in connection with immigration or other matters:
STEP 1. Verify the individual is a licensed attorney in good standing
Before you hire a lawyer to represent you, confirm that he or she is actually an attorney and that he or she is in good standing. All attorneys who are licensed to practice law in Massachusetts must be registered with the Board of Bar Overseers. To find out if an individual is licensed to practice law in Massachusetts and is in good standing, you can call the Board of Bar Overseers at 617-728-8800 or visit its website at http://massbbo.org/bbolookup.php.
STEP 2. OR, verify that the individual is an “Accredited Representative”
A small number of non-lawyers that are registered Accredited Representatives are permitted to represent clients in connection with immigration matters. To find out if an individual or organization is an Accredited Representative, review the Department of Justice’s Accredited Representatives Roster at http://www.justice.gov/eoir/ra/raroster_reps.htm.
STEP 3. Understand the different roles of Attorneys, Accredited Representatives, and “Preparers & Interpreters”
LICENSED ATTORNEYS. Generally speaking, only licensed attorneys may represent parties in court and give legal advice. In fact, under certain circumstances, practicing law without a license is crime. It is important to understand that the fact that someone is a Notary or Notary Public does not mean that he or she is an attorney. In many other countries, the word “notario” means that the individual is an attorney or can perform legal tasks, but that is not true in the United States.
Only licensed attorneys can:
- Advise clients as to whether or not they qualify for legal programs, or if they should apply for benefits or protections.
- Advise clients as to which government forms or applications they should file.
- Advise clients as to their legal risks or potential liabilities.
- Explain legal options.
- Advise clients on legal claims against another person or entity.
- Represent clients in court or before administrative judges.
- Negotiate settlements or compromises involving legal claims.
If you believe that you have been misled by someone pretending to be an attorney or Accredited Representative, or if you need additional information, please call the Office of the Attorney General at 617-963-2917.
You may also contact the Massachusetts Bar Association at (617) 654-0400, if you would like a referral to an attorney.
Additional Resources
Other Resources
Additional Resources
Contact for Immigration Resources
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Phone
Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
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Phone
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.