By MES Dispatch staff
The Briefing
• The Boston Police Department received 57 immigration detainer requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2025 and did not act on any of them, officials said.
• Police Commissioner Michael Cox attributed the non-compliance to the city’s Boston Trust Act, which limits cooperation with federal immigration civil detainers.
• The Trust Act allows cooperation with federal authorities on criminal matters but bars holding individuals solely on civil immigration detainer requests.
• The department’s annual report noted that ICE routinely seeks notification and extended custody to facilitate transfers for potential removal.
• Boston’s Trust Act and related state law have previously been challenged in federal court by the U.S. Department of Justice.
BOSTON, MA — The Boston Police Department did not act on any of the 57 civil immigration detainer requests it received from federal authorities during 2025, Police Commissioner Michael Cox reported in a letter to city officials.
Matt Stone/TNS
In his annual report, Cox said the department’s response reflects compliance with the Boston Trust Act, a local law that restricts police cooperation with federal immigration enforcement on civil matters. Under the statute, officers may not detain individuals solely on the basis of a federal civil immigration detainer after they are eligible for release.
Civil immigration detainers are requests from federal authorities asking local law enforcement to notify them before releasing an individual believed to be removable and to hold that person for up to 48 hours to allow transfer to federal custody. Cox’s report said none of the detainer requests resulted in a hold or transfer in 2025.
The Trust Act permits cooperation with federal immigration officials in cases involving criminal warrants or serious offenses, but limits involvement in purely civil immigration matters. Boston’s enforcement of the statute also aligns with state law, which prohibits local detention based solely on immigration status.
The Boston Trust Act has been the subject of legal challenges, including a federal lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice alleging the local law conflicts with federal immigration enforcement authority.