BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker is urging lawmakers to revisit legislation that would let state and municipal law enforcement officers hold “violent and dangerous criminals” who face deportation, if a valid federal detainer request has been issued.
The Republican filed the bill in 2017 after a ruling by the state’s highest court that Massachusetts law does not allow police to hold individuals solely on the basis of a federal immigration detainer request.
The Democratic-controlled Legislature didn’t take up the bill at the time.
Baker made the comments Monday after prosecutors in Massachusetts sued to block federal authorities from making arrests at courthouses of people suspected of being in the country illegally.
Baker said he hadn’t seen the lawsuit, but traced the presence of immigration agents in courthouses to the 2017 ruling.
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