PROTECT OUR PEOPLE CAMPAIGN
UPDATE
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GOV. HEALEY RELEASES GUIDELINES FOR INTERACTING WITH ICE
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UPDATE 〰️ GOV. HEALEY RELEASES GUIDELINES FOR INTERACTING WITH ICE 〰️
CLICK HERE TO REPORT ICE INTERACTION
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CLICK HERE TO REPORT ICE INTERACTION 〰️
We, the people of Massachusetts, are central to the story of our state. As families, individuals, and neighbors, we come from all backgrounds—office workers, teachers, caregivers, food service workers, tradespeople, healthcare workers, and laborers. We all want the same things: safety, good health, steady work, and a fair chance for our families. Our job is to look out for each other even when times are hard.
Too often, leaders try to scare us by saying there isn’t enough to go around and that “those people” are taking jobs and opportunities from us. But “those people” aren’t the billionaires who twist the system to keep more for themselves. We can and must stay united. When we stand together with courage, we will win. Families can work, study, and care for their health without fear of persecution by masked agents. When we face injustice together, it loses power. It isn’t easy, but it can be done. This is our work so far.
WE CALLED ON GOVERNOR MAURA HEALEY
TO TAKE BOLD, PUBLIC, EXECUTIVE ACTION
IN SOLIDARITY WITH MINNEAPOLIS, STANDING UP FOR MASSACHUSETTS
On January 23, 2026, over 200 clergy and lay leaders across faith traditions gathered in the State House for a prayer conference and to deliver a letter to Governor Healey detailing the asks above.
For a full recap of the day and related press coverage, click here.
AND THEN ON JANUARY 29, 2026, Governor Healey took bold, public, executive action as the Faith Leader Caucus had been inviting her to………
Mass.gov Press Release
Press Release Governor Healey Takes Action to Keep ICE out of Schools, Hospitals, Courthouses, and Places of Worship
Files legislation to protect Massachusetts residents from ICE abuses; Executive Order limits new 287(g) agreements, bans civil ICE arrests in state facilities and prohibits use of state property as staging locations
MCAN’s Protect Our People Campaign returned to the State House to deliver greetings of support and encouragement for our elected leaders to dig even deeper when it comes to protecting the Commonwealth
On February 12, 2026, 40 interfaith clergy and lay leaders across faith traditions visited the State House to deliver hundreds of cards of support for the Governor to continue taking bold, public executive action along with large format valentine cards to the Governor, the Speaker of the House and the Senate President, and individual legislators.
For a full recap of the day and related press coverage, click here.
SEE IT, SAY IT, SAFELY
On our second demand to set up an accountability structure for ICE abuses, Governor Healey’s office, in partnership with the Attorney General's office, has instituted a reporting system to report any misconduct by federal law enforcement. If you or someone you love has experienced any misconduct from ICE please take some time to go into the portal and submit a report. It would be helpful to our organizing if when you are reporting any misconduct by ICE that you also send feedback of your experience of filling out the report through the portal to catalina@mcan.us
On May 28, 2026, Governor Maura Healey issued statewide guidance on interacting with ICE for places of worship, schools, child careproviders, health care facilities and higher education campuses. Following a meeting with the Governor and executive staff, MCAN's faith leaders of the Protect Our People campaign were asked to review and contribute to the guidelines released yesterday for congregational spaces.
“This guidance should not be necessary,” the Rev. Mariama White-Hammond, founding pastor of the New Roots AME Church and a core member of MCAN's Faith Leader Caucus said at the press conference. “Many of us follow a higher law that is thousands of years old. And we will not let any political agenda of the moment draw us away from those higher principles — this guidance reminds us how we lean in to following those things to which we have dedicated our lives.”
photo credit: Office of Governor Maura T. Healey
TO READ THE FULL GUIDELINES CLICK HERE
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