Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts, today released the following statement in response to the proposed FY2019 budget:
“Decades from now, history will judge how Massachusetts’ leaders treated immigrants at this time.
"While the Massachusetts State Senate did the right thing and chose to protect vulnerable immigrants in Massachusetts by passing basic human rights protections, Governor Charlie Baker shamefully chose politics over people’s lives - and the House acquiesced. In so doing, they abdicated their responsibility to public safety and chose to deny immigrants even the most basic and narrow due process protections that make everyone in Massachusetts safer.
"Make no mistake: this decision now enshrines the politics of fear and silences the politics of hope and compassion.
"Because of this failure of leadership, immigrant survivors of domestic violence and other victims of crime may not come forward to law enforcement when they need help. Now, people living in Massachusetts will not be guaranteed their due process and informed about their rights when faced with a potential major deprivation of liberty, like being separated from family and facing deportation. Now, President Trump’s mass deportation agenda can continue here in Massachusetts. This is disgraceful. Period.”
