A group of about 60 protesters gathered outside the Massachusetts State House at noon on Tuesday, July 10, to demand the inclusion of key protections for immigrants in next year’s state budget.
The rally was organized by the Unitarian Universalists Mass Action organization, along with the Essex County Community Organization, and was in part a response to the state Congress sending the “Safe Communities Act” to study, which U.U. Mass Action Director, Laura Wagner, called effectively a “death sentence.” Had the Act passed in the House, it would have limited the authority of federal agents in detaining immigrants, prohibit the use of state funds for immigration enforcement purposes, prohibit state departments from creating databases of those who were undocumented, and enact several other protection for those did not have legal status.
