Worcester Public Schools, serving Massachusetts' second-largest city, has announced new protocols restricting cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. The district has implemented clear guidelines prohibiting ICE agents from entering school buildings without a criminal judicial warrant signed by a judge.
The school system has also issued specific instructions to bus drivers regarding potential ICE presence at bus stops. Drivers are directed to keep students on buses if immigration agents are spotted and immediately contact the district's transportation department.
These measures come as part of a broader movement across Massachusetts municipalities to limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Chelsea, which has maintained sanctuary city status since 2007, recently reinforced its position by declaring itself a "sanctuary district," pledging that school staff will not voluntarily assist in immigration enforcement or share student and family immigration status information.
The stance taken by Worcester and Chelsea schools has emerged amid mounting tensions between state and federal authorities. Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, along with ten other state attorneys general, has challenged recent federal threats to prosecute local officials who decline to cooperate with immigration enforcement.
Former U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Carmen Ortiz notes that while local authorities can implement protective measures, ICE agents carrying valid judicial warrants retain authority to make arrests. "They technically can go and pursue that individual and arrest them," Ortiz explained, adding that detention under ICE custody would proceed in such cases.
The policies reflect growing efforts by local institutions to maintain community trust while navigating complex federal immigration enforcement dynamics. These developments occur as various Massachusetts communities continue to evaluate and strengthen their approaches to immigration-related policies.