Lawyers demand investigation after ICE arrests Everett teen in ‘chilling incident’

Lawyers for Civil Rights is calling for a state investigation to determine if local police unlawfully facilitated a federal immigration arrest after a 13-year-old boy was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Everett earlier this month.

Lawyers for Civil Rights announced the call for an investigation on Friday, arguing that the incident may constitute a violation of state laws, including the landmark 2017 Supreme Judicial Court decision, " Lunn v. Commonwealth ‚" which limits local law enforcement's authority to hold a person solely on the basis of a federal immigration detainer.

The organization sent a group letter to Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell and Secretary for Public Safety and Security Terrence Reidy urging the Commonwealth to take steps in protecting "youth in custody and restore public trust in law enforcement."

The investigation concerns the arrest of a 13-year-old Everett boy, who was transferred to a juvenile facility in Virginia after the Department of Homeland Security claimed he had a gun and knife when he was initially detained. The city's mayor , Carlo DeMaria, however, said at a press conference Oct. 14 that the boy did not have a gun.

DeMaria also told reporters the city's police department was not the one that notified immigration authorities, according to WCVB-5 .

"This chilling incident exposes what may be a dangerous breakdown in legal protections for immigrants in our state — and the fact that it involves a child makes it even more alarming," Jillian Lenson, a senior staff attorney at Lawyers for Civil Rights, said in a statement.

In addition to the investigation, the group outlined several broader demands for the state, including to:

• Issue updated guidance and mandatory training for all state and local law enforcement agencies to ensure compliance with Massachusetts law, strictly limiting entanglement with federal immigration enforcement

• Establish an independent state-level oversight body or task force to monitor compliance with state law and constitutional protections

• Actively refer law enforcement officers with repeated violations of state law to the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission's Office of Police Accountability and Decertification

• Provide "adequate" compensation and support to affected families whose rights have been violated.

"Local and state officials have a responsibility to protect children, not funnel them into federal immigration detention," staff attorney at Lawyers for Civil Rights Brooke Simone said in a statement. "This kind of conduct destroys public trust and strikes fear in entire communities. In Massachusetts, it's not just wrong — it's unlawful."

Neither the Department of Homeland Security nor the Everett Police Department immediately responded to MassLive's request for comment Saturday.

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