| Date: | 05/01/2025 |
|---|---|
| Organization: | Executive Office of the Trial Court |
| Referenced Sources: | Internal court policies |
This policy governs interactions between Massachusetts Trial Court personnel and federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and employees. The revised ICE Policy supersedes the Policy and Procedures Regarding Courthouse Interactions with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, last issued on April 18, 2024.
Trial Court personnel may share public information about a defendant or witness upon request by ICE officers or employees, including a person’s custody status, public information about a case, or the courtroom or courthouse location where a defendant or witness may be present for a hearing. Absent a request from an ICE officer or employee, Trial Court personnel shall not initiate communication with ICE officers or employees except as described in Part II, paragraph one.
Trial Court personnel shall neither assist nor impede ICE officers or employees in detaining a person. Trial Court personnel may not detain an individual who is not in state custody solely for the purpose of giving ICE officers or employees time to take custody of the person under an ICE Notice of Action civil detainer (currently DHS Form I-247A). See Lunn v. Commonwealth, 477 Mass. 517 (2017). But if a defendant is released from state custody, and ICE officers or employees are present with a civil detainer for the defendant, ICE officers or employees shall be permitted to enter the lockup to take custody of the defendant.
A special writ of habeas corpus (“ICE Habe”) must be used to bring a person into state court when a person is held in ICE custody. (The ICE Habe is available on MassCourts). If a person is brought into state court on an ICE Habe, court officers must communicate with ICE (or the transporting authority) to coordinate the return of the person to ICE custody at the conclusion of the state proceeding. Court officers may also communicate with ICE to confirm the existence of an ICE Habe.
If a defendant brought into court on an ICE Habe is held without bail, the defendant must be returned to ICE custody immediately upon release from State custody. An ICE Habe does not expire and is not vacated by the bail Order.
If a defendant is brought into court on an ICE Habe and is admitted to bail, the defendant must be returned to ICE custody, and the bail shall be recorded on a mittimus and returned with the defendant to ICE custody at the conclusion of the court proceeding.
If a defendant is brought into court on an ICE Habe and is sentenced to a term of state incarceration, the defendant must be immediately returned to ICE custody upon conclusion of the state sentence. The ICE Habe does not expire and is not vacated by the imposition of a period of incarceration. In all other cases, a person brought to state court on an ICE Habe must be immediately returned to ICE custody after the court proceeding.
