Gov. Healey issues guidance to Massachusetts schools on Protect Act, responding to ICE

Tim Dunn, Boston Herald on Aug 25, 2026

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BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey has issued guidance to schools and child care facilities on how to interact with Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the recently signed Protect Act as the agency carries out President Donald Trump’s nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration.

The guidance has been issued to all Massachusetts school districts, charter schools, educational collaboratives and licensed or state-funded early education and care programs. It features instructions for staff and administrators to follow if ICE agents arrive on site or request access to a student, child or their information.

“As families prepare for the new school year, every child should feel safe walking into their classroom and every parent should feel confident dropping them off. The PROTECT Act makes clear that schools and child care programs are places for children to learn and grow, not places for ICE to target families,” said Healey. “These resources give educators and providers the clear guidance they need to put those protections into practice.”

Healey’s guidance instructs education and child care programs to establish a designated contact person for dealing with federal immigration officers – something required under the Protect Act along with written policies on how staff and administrators should respond if ICE agents arrive at their respective facility. The governor’s office recommends the highest ranking administrator or official on-site to fill this role, and that educational programs also designate a backup contact person as well.

It goes on to instruct the designated contact person to immediately contact their respective school or program’s attorney, if they are available. If an attorney is unavailable, the Healey administration says the contact person should speak calmly with the ICE officers and ask to view any warrants or other documentation they may have, as well as the individual officers’ names and badge numbers.

“If the law enforcement officers have a valid Judicial Warrant or Judicial Order authorizing an arrest or entry to search or both, the designated contact person should inform the law enforcement officers that they may enter the EEC Provider Premises; however, the designated contact person should request that, where feasible, civil law enforcement officers avoid any areas where children or residents are present,” the guidance reads.

“If the law enforcement officers do not have a valid Judicial Warrant or Judicial Order, or they have only an administrative warrant, the designated contact person must inform them that they are not authorized to enter the EEC Provider Premises or conduct an arrest on the Premises and must ask them to leave,” it continues. “If there is an imminent threat to the safety of a child, staff member, family member, or other person, program staff should not hesitate to call 9-1-1 for assistance.”

The Protect Act calls on all Massachusetts schools and child care providers to have the policies in effect by September 1, or the first day of the 2026–2027 school year.

Healey signed the Protect Act into law earlier this month during a signing ceremony in Chelsea. Filed as an emergency preamble, the legislation immediately went into effect.

In addition to prohibiting civil immigration arrests at state owned public buildings, the new law also requires all Massachusetts employers to notify any illegal immigrant employees ahead of a pending I-9 inspection by DHS, and bans state and local law enforcement from entering into any new deputization agreements with federal immigration authorities, the most notable of which are 287(g) agreements, “except in narrow, criminal-law-focused arrangements that meet additional safeguards.”

“Today we are putting a core principle of the PROTECT Act into action: no family should fear that a normal day at school or day care can be disrupted by President Trump’s ICE agents,” said Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland).

“Since the beginning of President Trump’s second term, dangerous and illegal actions taken by federal immigration agents have immigrants in Massachusetts living in fear as they go about their daily lives, including when they bring their children to school,” added House Speaker Ron Mariano (D-Quincy).

The Healey administration has partnered with the Massachusetts Office for Refugees and Immigrants to provide Know Your Rights training for the state’s early education and child care industry.

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