The Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office is required to provide anonymized health records of immigrant detainees after a recent Massachusetts court decision.
Judge James Budreau issued the ruling a month following a legal battle between the sheriff’s office and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Massachusetts. The court order was made public on Wednesday.
“I think this is a decision that is important for government transparency and the rights of immigrant detainees,” commented Dan McFadden, managing attorney at the state ACLU. “The Sheriff’s Office cannot exempt itself from public records law simply by contract with ICE.”
Karen Barry, representing the Sheriff’s Office, confirmed that the office will adhere to the court’s directive. “As the judge acknowledged, this is a novel case,” she stated. “We appreciate the court’s guidance.”
The ACLU initiated legal action for access to records related to immigrant detainees at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility, the state’s only immigrant detention center. This legal action followed a contract signed with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in 2024, and a subsequent denial of a public records request by the Sheriff’s Office.
During a July 7 court session, the Sheriff’s Office argued that federal law precluded the release of the health records due to pre-emption, emphasizing that federal law over immigration superseded state public records law. However, Judge Budreau dismissed this argument.
“The state law at issue is not, however, an attempt by the Commonwealth to regulate the documentation of immigrants,” Budreau explained. “Rather, the question before this court is about the state maintaining records relating to the state’s police powers and oversight of the health and safety of persons held in state facilities.”
He further asserted, “The state maintains (its) right to reasonably police and ensure the health and safety of its population, and such right is not usurped by the federal regulation at issue here.”
The ACLU had filed a motion for summary judgment to force the release of the documents, opposing the sheriff’s motion to dismiss. Budreau indicated that a judgment would be rendered within 30 days if neither party requests a hearing on the motion.
The July Hearing
In the July 7 hearing, the ACLU contended that the laws cited by the sheriff’s office to deny records were excessively broad, accusing the sheriff of attempting to bypass state law.
“It would be pretty extraordinary if Congress tried to interfere in state agencies’ abilities to generate its own record,” McFadden remarked.
Jessica Kenny, an attorney for the sheriff’s department, suggested that the ACLU could request the documents through a federal Freedom of Information Act request from ICE. “These documents were created pursuant to the (ICE-sheriff agreement), so ICE does have the records,” she added.
Budreau questioned Kenny on whether redacting detainee names, alien registration numbers, and other identifying information could resolve the issue, to which she agreed.
“If those are redacted, there’s no way of connecting that to a detainee?” Budreau asked. “Presumably no,” Kenny replied.
History of Issues
The Plymouth County Correctional Facility began housing immigrant detainees under a 1998 contract with the now-defunct Immigration and Naturalization Service. It remains the sole long-term immigrant detention facility in Massachusetts.
According to its contract with ICE, the facility allocates 250 beds for immigrant detainees, at a rate of $215 per day per occupied bed. The contract requires the Sheriff’s Office to maintain health records. The ACLU initially requested these records on December 11.
“The availability of medical care in immigration detention facilities is vitally important, as immigration detainees have no other way to seek medical help while detained,” stated Mackenzie Saunders, an ACLU attorney, in the complaint. “And for some, not receiving medical care can be a matter of life or death.”
A 2024 report by the Boston University School of Law and Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts found that Plymouth authorities failed to provide necessary care and services to detainees, recommending timely access to medical care and discontinuation of solitary confinement. Another 2024 report by ICE’s Office of Detention Oversight cited no deficiencies in treatment.
As of August 4, 57 individuals have died in ICE custody across the nation since Donald Trump resumed the presidency, according to the National Immigration Project. The ACLU referenced these fatalities and other reports of mistreatment in its complaint.
Among these, several detainees died from seemingly minor health issues. On March 2, 56-year-old Emmanuel Damas, a Haitian man residing in Boston, died of an untreated tooth infection while in custody at a hospital in Scottsdale, Arizona.
