Three western Massachusetts towns have signed a resolution calling on Attorney General Andrea Campbell and Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan to “investigate and prosecute federal agents” carrying out immigration enforcement operations in the state.
Three individual resolutions signed by the towns of Easthampton, Northampton and Amherst, come in the wake of two ICE-involved fatal shootings that have captured national attention, including in Biddeford, ME.
The Easthampton City Council voted unanimously this week to sign its resolution, following previously created and signed resolutions by officials in Amherst and Northampton, which calls for the investigation and prosecution of ICE and other federal agents “when they violate Massachusetts criminal law while operating in the Commonwealth.”
“The Trump Administration has weaponized the federal government against our neighbors and community members in an unconstitutional overreach and violation of basic civil liberties, in service of a white nationalist political agenda targeting immigrants, communities of color, and queer people,” the Resolution in Support of Holding Federal Immigration Agents Accountable for Violations of Massachusetts Criminal Law reads.
“This violence is happening across the country, with at least 14 detainees killed in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody since the start of 2026, including Jose Guadalupe Ramos-Solano and Aled Damien Carbonell-Betancourt,” it says.
Easthampton city councilors even went on to equate federal civil immigration arrests to “abductions,” adding that four people in the town have been taken by ICE.
“We have seen it here in Easthampton, with eyewitnesses reporting ICE abductions of at least 4 individuals from our own city streets,” it continued.
The push for the resolution in Easthampton was spearheaded by the activist group Western Mass Immigrant Legislative Advocacy Network. In Northampton and Amherst, the resolution was pushed by national legal advocacy organization Free Speech For People.
“Easthampton residents lined up to voice their support for the resolution, some sharing their own immigrant histories, while others voiced their grief and frustration at the ruthless actions of federal agents and the Trump administration,” said Sara Weinberger, an Easthampton resident and member of Western Mass Immigrant Legislative Advocacy Network. “I am proud of my little city with such a big heart, a city where so many people refuse to be bystanders.”
“Federal agents are not above state criminal law. The Constitution does not grant federal agents immunity to commit murder, assault and battery, kidnapping, unlawful detention, or other crimes,” added President of Free Speech For People John Bonifaz. “State and local prosecutors have both the authority and the obligation to enforce state criminal laws when federal officers violate them.”
Copies of the Easthampton resolution, as has been done with the resolutions from Amherst and Northampton, will be sent to Gov. Maura Healey, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, AG Campbell, DA Sullivan, and the Massachusetts congressional delegation.
“I hope other municipalities will continue to follow suit until we see real, tangible change at the state level, including ending the only remaining 287g agreement in New England, which we have not seen addressed by state officials to date,” said Amherst Town Councilor Jill Brevik, who sponsored the resolution in Amherst that was passed in February.
The latest resolution to pass in Easthampton comes as Massachusetts political leaders, most notably Healey and Campbell, have significantly amplified their criticisms of ICE and President Trump’s nationwide immigration crackdown since launching their respective campaigns for re-election.
As recently as Wednesday, Healey went on a lengthy rant against ICE and Trump for the fatal shootings that occurred in Biddeford, ME and in Houston, TX, also going on to slam her Republican challengers in the governor’s race in Mike Minogue and Brian Shortsleeve.
“Look, three people are dead. Three people are dead at the hands of ICE and frankly Donald Trump in the last week alone. We continue to see this happen in communities all across the country. And I’ve been really clear about this: it needs to stop,” Healey told reporters when asked for her thoughts on the shootings. “These guys are acting in ways where they’re not following good law enforcement practices. They think they’re above the law. Some of them aren’t trained at all or have minimal training. And people are getting killed.”
Healey and Campbell even co-created an online ICE Misconduct Portal for residents to anonymously report potentially illegal activities and misconduct by federal immigration agents in the state.
Shortly after creating the portal, both Healey and Campbell publicly expressed support for using the information collected to prosecute federal agents.
“We recently launched an iCE Misconduct portal. This is critical. We need you to record your videos of any interactions that you see in the to upload your stories, your videos, all of it, secretly, safely, so that we can get that information and do what with it? Review it, investigate it, and prosecute anyone who is violating our laws, who is harming our people, and who is threatening your safety,” Campbeell said during the No Kings rally in Boston back in March.
The Herald has requested comment from the Attorney General’s Office.
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