The Boston Trust Act, enacted in 2014 and strengthened in 2019, restricts Boston Police from using city resources to enforce federal civil immigration law and from honoring most ICE detainer requests absent a judicial warrant.
Codified in Boston Code Ch. 12, the Trust Act bars the Boston Police Department from arresting or detaining individuals solely on the basis of an ICE administrative detainer, civil immigration warrant, or removal order. Officers may not inquire into immigration status during routine encounters and may not transport persons to federal custody on civil immigration grounds. The 2019 update tightened restrictions on information sharing through the Boston Regional Intelligence Center. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's 2017 Lunn decision separately held that state and local officers lack authority to make civil immigration arrests under state law.
Violations are addressed administratively through BPD discipline, civil rights complaints, and lawsuits under MGL Ch. 12 §11I and federal §1983 claims; no criminal penalty attaches to officers for non-compliance.
See how Boston's sanctuary policy preemption rules stack up against other locations.
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