Immigrants without status in Massachusetts are living in constant fear. With a hostile federal administration, something as simple as walking on the sidewalk or being pulled over for a traffic stop has led to detention and potentially deportation. Such is the story of Lucas Dos Santos Amaral, who was pulled over and very nearly deported despite not having a criminal record or being the person ICE was looking for. If it can happen to him, who’s really safe? This is why having legal representation available to immigrants facing deportation who cannot afford it is more necessary than ever. Massachusetts shouldn’t wait any longer. It’s time to join other states and ensure real protection is available to families and community members across the Commonwealth who are at risk of imminent deportation. Without representation, the deportation process is widely known to be confusing, scary and traumatic. Imagine trying to defend yourself in court, in a different language, with no lawyer and your future on the line. Worse yet, instances of family separation have been documented, which can leave permanent psychological scars. Opponents to such a bill argue that it would place an undue burden on taxpayers and that creating a bill would create a right guaranteed to immigrants that does not exist for U.S. citizens. But the facts speak for themselves: these arguments collapse under scrutiny. Passing this bill is not just common sense. It is a necessary step to protect immigrants who add immeasurable value to our communities. A major misconception about the Immigrant Legal Defense Act, and similar bills passed in other states, is that it creates a “right” to legal defense for people facing deportation, like the Sixth Amendment guarantees for U.S. citizens in criminal court. That’s simply not true. These bills don’t guarantee legal counsel. What they do is establish a framework to fund legal services for people who can’t afford them, giving more immigrants a fighting chance. It’s not a sweeping right. It’s a targeted, practical step toward basic fairness. And it’s not just about fairness. It’s about value—human and economic. Immigrants contribute so much to their communities: they work, care for families and build lives. But they also contribute financially. In Massachusetts, immigrants without status paid nearly $650 million in state and local taxes in 2022, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. That money helps fund schools, health care and other public services that everyone relies on. So how much would this bill cost? Just five million dollars to start. That’s less than 1% of what these same residents are already contributing. There’s no burden being placed on citizen taxpayers. In fact, immigrants without status are paying hundreds of millions into systems they often can’t even access. And the disparities this bill would address are serious. Representation matters. Immigrants with lawyers are 10 times more likely to win relief from deportation than those without. Think about that. The outcome of a deportation case often comes down to whether someone has a lawyer by their side. This isn’t a small-scale issue either. In Massachusetts, 55% of people facing deportation don’t have legal representation. That’s not a gap. It’s a crisis. And this bill would directly help close it by expanding access to legal support for thousands of people at risk of being removed from the only communities they know. So what needs to be done? The bill needs to be passed, of course. But in order to make that happen, there is action that needs to be taken on all of our parts. If you live in Massachusetts, go to malegislature.gov to find who your representative and senator are, and check if they are co-sponsoring the bill. If they are not, then writing to them with a clear, direct address about why Massachusetts needs this bill to be passed is of utmost importance. This bill cannot wait. Colorado passed their version of the bill the first time it was introduced, so why not Massachusetts? Speak up and be vocal about the need to protect immigrant communities bringing so much to the Commonwealth.