The Plymouth County Sheriff鈥檚 Office must hand over hundreds of anonymized health records of immigrant detainees following a Massachusetts court ruling.
Judge James Budreau issued , released Wednesday, a month after attorneys for the sheriff and the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts in Suffolk County Superior Court.
鈥淚 think this is a decision that is important for government transparency and the rights of immigrant detainees,鈥� said Dan McFadden, managing attorney at the state ACLU. 鈥�(The Sheriff鈥檚 Office) cannot exempt itself from public records law simply by contract with ICE.鈥�
Karen Barry, spokeswoman for the Sheriff鈥檚 Office, told The Light in an email that the office will comply with the order.
鈥淎s the judge acknowledged, this is a novel case,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e appreciate the court鈥檚 guidance.鈥�
The ACLU sued for numerous records generated for immigrant detainees at Plymouth County Correctional Facility, the only immigrant detention facility in Massachusetts. That stems from a contract the department signed with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2024. The ACLU sued after the Sheriff鈥檚 Office denied a public records request.
At the July 7 hearing, the Sheriff鈥檚 Office relied largely on legal concepts of pre-emption 鈥� arguing that federal law prohibited them from issuing the health records. The sheriff鈥檚 attorneys argued that federal dominion over immigration law pre-empted the state鈥檚 public records law in this case, despite the Sheriff鈥檚 Office being a state agency.
Budreau brushed that concern aside in his decision.
鈥淭he state law at issue is not, however, an attempt by the Commonwealth to regulate the documentation of immigrants,鈥� he said. 鈥淩ather, the question before this court is about the state maintaining records relating to the state鈥檚 police powers and oversight of the health and safety of persons held in state facilities.
鈥淭he state maintains (its) right to reasonably police and ensure the health and safety of its population,鈥� he went on to say, 鈥渁nd such right is not usurped by the federal regulation at issue here.鈥�
The ACLU had filed a motion for summary judgment to compel the handover of the documents in response to the sheriff鈥檚 motion for dismissal. Budreau said the judgment will be entered within 30 days should neither party request a hearing on that motion.
The July hearing
The ACLU argued in court on July 7 that the laws the sheriff cited in its denial of the records were overly broad, and that the sheriff was attempting to circumvent state law.
鈥淚t would be pretty extraordinary if Congress tried to interfere in state agencies鈥� abilities to generate its own record,鈥� McFadden said.
Jessica Kenny, the sheriff department鈥檚 attorney, argued that the ACLU could attempt to procure the documents through a federal Freedom of Information Act request to ICE.
鈥淭hese documents were created pursuant to the (ICE-sheriff agreement), so ICE does have the records,鈥� she said.
When Budreau pressed Kenny on whether the redaction of detainees鈥� names, alien registration numbers, and any other identifying information could resolve the issue, she quickly assented.
鈥淚f those are redacted, there鈥檚 no way of connecting that to a detainee?鈥� Budreau asked.
鈥淧resumably no,鈥� Kenny responded.
History of issues
Plymouth County Correctional Facility through a contract with the now defunct-Immigration and Naturalization Service in 1998. It is currently the only such facility to house immigrant detainees long term in Massachusetts.
According to its , Plymouth sets aside 250 beds at the facility for immigrant detainees. The agency pays the Sheriff鈥檚 Office $215 per day per occupied bed.
The contract also obligates the Sheriff鈥檚 Office to create the health records. The ACLU seeking those records on Dec. 11.
鈥淭he availability of medical care in immigration detention facilities is vitally important, as immigration detainees have no other way to seek medical help while detained,鈥� wrote Mackenzie Saunders, an ACLU attorney, in the original complaint. 鈥淎nd for some, not receiving medical care can be a matter of life or death.鈥�
A published by the Boston University School of Law and Prisoners鈥� Legal Services of Massachusetts found through interviews with detainees that Plymouth authorities did not provide detainees with necessary care and services. It recommended the sheriff ensure inmates had timely access to necessary medical care and to discontinue the use of solitary confinement. by the ICE Office of Detention Oversight found the prison had 鈥渘o deficiencies鈥� in treatment.
As of Aug. 4, 57 people had died in ICE custody nationwide since Donald Trump鈥檚 return to the presidency, according . The ACLU cited the fatalities, and other reports of ill-treatment, in its complaint.
Several of those detainees died of what may appear to be minor problems. On March 2, 56-year old Emmanuel Damas, a Haitian man living in Boston, .
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