ACLU of Massachusetts v. Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department

The ACLU of Massachusetts (ACLUM) filed a public records lawsuit against the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department (PCSD) for failing to produce records concerning its health care program for civil immigration detainees incarcerated in the Plymouth County Correctional Facility. PCSD incarcerates civil immigration detainees under a contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

In December 2025, ACLUM submitted the request for these records. PCSD produced two records, but refused to produce the remaining records. ACLUM consequently filed this lawsuit in February 2026. In the lawsuit, PCSD is asserting that it does not have to comply with the Massachusetts public records law because the state law is pre-empted by one of ICE's regulations. ACLUM argues that our state's transparency laws apply to all state agencies (including PCSD), that PCSD cannot avoid its obligations under the Massachusetts public records law by entering into a contract with ICE, and that the records must be released because PCSD has not met its burden to show that any exemption to the Massachusetts public records law applies.

ACLUM's public records request seeks to ascertain information about PCSD's programs for providing medical care to civil immigration detainees. The request follows reports both locally and nationally of serious deficiencies in the quality of medical care provided to people held in ICE's custody.