BOSTON — Beacon Hill is at it again, and this time the battlefield is the courthouse.

A freshly filed bill from state Sen. Lydia Edwards — titled “An Act protecting access to justice” (SD.3607) — is being pitched as a clean, civic-minded effort to keep people from being scared off from court. It was introduced January 20, 2026, and sent to the Joint Committee on Rules.

The sales pitch is simple: courthouses should be for justice, not fear. Supporters argue that when people worry they’ll be grabbed the moment they walk into a hallway, they stop showing up — victims avoid restraining orders, witnesses disappear, parents skip family court, and the whole system starts running on empty.

But the other side hears something very different. They see a bill that effectively turns Massachusetts courthouses into a protected zone — a “safe space” where illegal immigrants can move in and out of the justice system with less risk of being picked up by federal immigration enforcement. And they’re furious that lawmakers are even entertaining it as ICE enforcement remains a political flashpoint and rumors of stepped-up activity swirl.

That’s why the bill is already lighting people up: because it’s not just about courtroom decorum. It’s about whether Massachusetts is willing to build legal guardrails that make immigration enforcement harder — and whether a courthouse becomes a place where the rules change depending on who you are.

Right now, the public record confirms the basics: the title, the sponsor, the filing date, and the committee referral. The real fight is what’s inside the language — how broad the protections go, who they cover, and whether this is truly about “access to justice” … or a stealth shield designed to keep ICE at arm’s length.