Massachusetts towns and cities are proceeding with caution as the Trump administration steams ahead in its crackdown on illegal immigration, with residents in one suburb rejecting a “safe communities” petition.
As some municipalities rushed to reaffirm their commitment to protecting all immigrants after Donald Trump won re-election last November, Mansfield is taking a different approach.
The suburb of roughly 24,000 people, about 30 miles southwest of Boston, has turned down a citizen’s petition to block town funds and resources from being used to enforce federal immigration law.
Resident Marcia Szymanski sponsored the petition that residents overwhelmingly rejected at a town meeting that drew a turnout of just over 480 locals. She argued that the measure would not have created a sanctuary town nor exposed Mansfield to federal funding “retaliation.”
“This article simply codifies what the town and the police force are already doing,” Szymanski said at the meeting on Wednesday. “The intent is to affirm the town’s commitment to the values of freedom, justice and equality for all Mansfield residents and visitors.”
“To take this action at this time is a vital contribution to public safety and a sense of community,” she added.
Police Chief Ron Sellon clarified that local resources are not being directed to enforcing federal laws, as is, connecting Mansfield’s status to a 2017 state Supreme Judicial Court ruling.
Under the so-called Lunn decision, local law enforcement cannot hold aliens based solely on a civil immigration detainer issued by federal officials beyond the time they would otherwise be released from custody.
That means aliens must be released even if federal immigration authorities issue a civil immigration detainer.
Sellon called the petition “moot,” while raising concerns about how support of the resolution could have prompted federal funding uncertainty as Mansfield faces financial struggles. The police department is relying on roughly $500,000 in federal grants to “offset” cuts, he said.
Mansfield residents also voted against a $2.7 million tax increase for the upcoming fiscal year.
Last August, Mansfield Police arrested Akim Marc Desire, 18, a Haitian national living in Massachusetts unlawfully, on a charge of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.
“I will just be straight up and honest about it: I don’t know what the result is going to be,” Sellon said. “Donald Trump can’t find Mansfield on a map, but we don’t know if this is going to be the trigger that draws it for him.”
Mansfield’s rejection of the petition came two days after Trump signed an executive order directing his attorney general to work up a list of the country’s ‘sanctuary cities’ and warn them that they could lose funding or face other consequences.
Sanctuary policies are “a lawless insurrection against the supremacy of Federal law and the Federal Government’s obligation to defend the territorial sovereignty of the United States,” according to the president’s order.
Trump’s previous attempts to withhold funding to sanctuary cities and towns have been blocked in the courts.
While there is no strict “sanctuary jurisdiction” definition, the term is often used to describe those with policies that prevent local law enforcement agencies from enforcing federal laws or holding detainees longer than they normally would based on a civil detainer.
The exact number of sanctuary towns and cities in Massachusetts is unclear. Boston, Somerville, Northampton, Amherst, Cambridge, Concord, Lawrence and Newton had been grouped into that category for years, but some now say they have never been defined as a sanctuary.
Concord Town Manager Kerry Lafleur told the Select Board just a week after Trump retook office that the town is “not a sanctuary city,” the hyperlocal Concord Bridge has reported. Police Capt. Brian Goldman told the outlet that listing the town as a sanctuary city is “misstated.”
“What was put forward in 2017 was a ‘Welcoming Community,'” Goldman told the Bridge in January. “So it’s a little different mix of words.”
Other municipalities, in the wake of Trump’s re-election, adopted sanctuary-like policies barring employees from inquiring about or collecting information regarding citizenship or immigration status unless required by federal or state law.
The Natick Select Board in December declared its policy as not a true sanctuary city directive, “like Somerville and Cambridge,” while the Medford City Council also approved a similar ordinance in January, making it a so-called “Welcoming City.”
Medford has purchased 8,000 “know your rights” cards slated to be distributed to immigrants, alerting them of their Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights of not allowing agents to enter their homes without a signed warrant and not speaking to or answering questions from them, according to Boston 25.
On Beacon Hill, House Democrats rejected a Republican-led effort to reform the SJC’s 2017 Lunn decision that would have allowed local law enforcement to detain someone wanted by federal immigration authorities for up to 12 hours after their court proceedings end.
The rejection, during a debate on the House’s $61 billion fiscal year 2026 budget last week, triggered Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Kennealy to sound off against the Democratic supermajority.
“Unlike Maura Healey, I will never allow politics to dictate decisions that put the safety of Massachusetts residents at risk,” Kennealy said in a statement. “Let’s be clear: if your laws protect illegal immigrants from federal enforcement, you are, by definition, a sanctuary state. That must end.”
Gov. Healey has repeatedly declared that Massachusetts is not a sanctuary state, even after federal authorities reportedly arrested 370 illegal aliens during an “enhanced operation,” which largely focused on transnational organized crime and gangs, including the notorious MS-13, Tren de Aragua, Trinitarios, and 18th Street.
Of the 370 people arrested in the March effort, 205 had significant criminal convictions or charges, ICE Boston reported. Border czar Tom Homan quickly vowed to return to the Bay State, as he said there is more “work to do.”
Healey has questioned Homan’s “fixation” on Massachusetts.
“To be quite honest, we’re a very safe state,” the governor told reporters after Homan’s initial visit. “We’re not a sanctuary state. Local, state, and federal law enforcement continue to work with and partner with one another.”
Before a Congressional committee probing sanctuary cities in early March, Mayor Michelle Wu touted Boston as the “safest major city” in the country, taking a swipe at the federal administration for spreading fear and undermining police work.