Court Cases

This class action lawsuit challenges the ubiquitous denial of bond hearings to people detained by ICE across New England.

We are seeking public records on the Plymouth County Sheriff Department's programs for providing medical care to civil immigration detainees. The request follows widespread reports of inadequate care provided to those held in ICE custody.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit to seek redress and accountability for extrajudicial killings pursuant to the Death on the High Seas Act and the Alien Tort Statute.

UPDATE: In what appears to be the first decision to address mandatory detention under the Laken Riley Act, a federal judge in Boston ruled that detaining an individual solely on the basis of his prior arrest violates due process. Mr. Doe received a court-ordered bond hearing and was later released. In July 2025, the ACLU of Massachusetts, together with the ACLU, law firm Rubin Pomerleau, P.C., and Boston College Law School Immigration Clinic filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the detention of an 18-year-old under the Laken Riley Act (LRA). The habeas petition alleges “John Doe” was arrested and held without bond based solely on unproven accusations, in violation of his due process rights. Mr. Doe is a recipient of Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), which provides a pathway to Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status for young people who are the victims of abuse, abandonment, or neglect. On July 4, Mr. Doe was arrested by local police in Massachusetts based on an allegation of misdemeanor shoplifting. There are no pending charges from this incident, and Mr. Doe has never been convicted of any crime. Nevertheless, ICE arrested Mr. Doe as he walked out of the police station and placed him in civil immigration detention. Mr. Doe has been jailed at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility for over a month without a bond hearing. Mr. Doe was jailed without any due process under the Laken Riley Act. Enacted in January 2025, the LRA purports to authorize ICE to detain people with no due process based solely on unproven accusations such as arrests or pending charges, including for misdemeanor property crimes like shoplifting. In the federal case, Mr. Doe argues that the LRA violates his due process rights and also that, as a SIJS recipient, he does not meet the statutory criteria that would make the LRA apply.

The ACLU filed a lawsuit on behalf of Afghans facing danger at the hands of the reinstalled Taliban regime, and on behalf of New England-based loved ones attempting to bring them to safety in the United States through a process called humanitarian parole.

Full case details will be posted soon.

The ACLU of Massachusetts, together with American Oversight, filed a lawsuit seeking the release of records concerning the investigation and prosecution of a state court judge.

The ACLU of Massachusetts filed a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s practice of denying access to records that may aid an immigrant’s defense in immigration cases.