Homeland Security to cut all ties with the Bristol county ICE facility

BRISTOL COUNTY, Mass. — Thursday, May 20, the Department of Homeland Security announced it will end its relationship with the Bristol County Sheriff’s office.

This comes after Senator Elizabeth Warren and Attorney General Maura Healey called on the Biden administration to stop detaining immigrants at the facility.

A statement from ACLU Executive Director Carol Rose reads:

“The end of ICE contracts with Bristol County is a long overdue and critical step in decoupling Massachusetts law enforcement from federal immigration enforcement. It is particularly important because it strips Sheriff Thomas Hodgson, who carried out the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant agenda with zeal, of custodial responsibility for detained immigrants.

“Our immigration system locks up hundreds of thousands of immigrants unnecessarily every year, separating people from their loved ones and exposing them to inhumane conditions of confinement. We are heartened by the Biden administration’s termination of these contracts, and the ACLU commends Senator Warren and Attorney General Healey for their commitment to the issue. By shuttering detention facilities with a track record of problematic conditions and ending local collaboration with ICE, we can work together toward a fairer and more humane immigration system.”

Background from the ACLU states that these detainee programs are wasteful and harmful to communities and that these contracts should all end promptly.

AG Maura Healey statement reads:

“We commend DHS for ending its partnership with the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office, which has a long history of abuse and neglect of immigration detainees. Our extensive investigation and advocacy have made it clear that the Sheriff’s Office is not willing to take any steps to protect the rights and safety of detainees, and that ICE must sever ties with BCSO. This decision under the Biden Administration ensures that the civil rights of immigrants are protected and not violated in a callous disregard for human life and dignity.”

We’ve learned that the AG’s office launched an investigation into the Bristol County Jail and House of Correction back in May of 2020 and found that the BCSO violated the civil rights of federal immigration detainees during their stay in the facility.

“The AG’s Office recommended a series of reforms to address the systemic issues at the facility, ensure public health and safety, and protect the rights of detainees. One of those recommendations was that DHS terminate its partnership with the BCSO,” in a press release from AG Healey’s office.

Sheriff Hodgson released the statement below in response to the cancelation of ICE contracts:

“Shame on Department of Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas for putting his left-wing political agenda above public safety by ending the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This is nothing but a political hit job orchestrated by Sec. Mayorkas, the Biden administration, and other anti-law enforcement groups to punish outspoken critics and advance their partisan agenda to score political points. This decision puts the people of Bristol County, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the United States of America at greater risk of being victimized by criminal illegal aliens. While Sec. Mayorkas and the Biden administration are turning their backs on the people of our great country, I will not.”

Cox Media Group