Judge rules ICE contract doesn't shield Plymouth County detainee records from state law

Sheriff’s office calls the case ‘novel’ and will comply

A Suffolk County Superior Court judge has ordered the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office to turn over hundreds of anonymized health records of immigrant detainees to the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts. The ruling, released Wednesday, rejects the office’s argument that its 2024 federal contracting arrangement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shielded the records from state public-disclosure law.

Judge James Budreau issued the order about a month after attorneys for the sheriff and the ACLU of Massachusetts sparred in Suffolk County Superior Court. The ruling requires the disclosure of records generated for immigrant detainees at Plymouth County Correctional Facility, the only immigrant detention facility in Massachusetts.

The ACLU sued the Sheriff’s Office after the agency denied a public records request for documents tied to the facility, arguing the records are subject to Massachusetts public-records law despite their connection to a federal contract. The records sought were generated under a contract the sheriff’s department signed with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2024.

“I think this is a decision that is important for government transparency and the rights of immigrant detainees,” Dan McFadden, the ACLU of Massachusetts’ managing attorney, said. “(The Sheriff’s Office) cannot exempt itself from public records law simply by contract with ICE.”

The Sheriff’s Office will comply with the order, according to Karen Barry, a spokeswoman.

“As the judge acknowledged, this is a novel case,” Barry said in an email to The New Bedford Light. “We appreciate the court’s guidance.”