Massachusetts has a program that pays for lawyers for immigrants facing deportation. Senate Democrats want to put more money into it.
Senate President Karen Spilka plans to include an additional $1 million for the Massachusetts Access to Counsel Initiative in a supplemental spending bill set for release Thursday, WBUR reported.
The program, created in the state’s fiscal year 2026 budget, funds free legal representation for immigrants in deportation proceedings — who, unlike criminal defendants, have no right to a court-appointed attorney.
The additional $1 million would come from the same source as the original $5 million: the so-called millionaires tax, a 4% surtax on Massachusetts incomes above $1 million.
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