BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey is hiding behind her exemption to the public records law to withhold hundreds of entries sent to the ICE Misconduct Portal she created last month with Attorney General Andrea Campbell, as the Bay State keeps up its reputation as the least transparent state in the country.

The Boston Herald had requested the first two weeks’ worth of entries submitted to the portal through a public records request, with Healey sending just six entries to AG Campbell’s Office for review, four of which were ultimately disclosed to the public.

Entry IDs featured on each report indicate that hundreds were sent into the portal, and Healey’s office tells the Herald that the rest of the reports will not be disclosed, citing her exemption from the public records law and stating that releasing the remaining entries would “interfere” with and “hinder” her ability to perform her duties.

“After review, we refer you to the Attorney General’s letter to you of April 10, 2026, responding to the same public records request and producing four responsive records. We are unable to provide any other records responsive to your request as doing so would interfere with the Governor’s necessary, regular activities and responsibilities and, as a consequence, unreasonably hinder the Governor in effectively performing her duties,” Healey’s office told the Herald in a Monday response.

“By law, records held by the Office of the Governor are not subject to the Massachusetts public records law. See Lambert v. Executive Director of the Judicial Nominating Council, 425 Mass. 406, 409 (1997). Governor Healey’s Office will evaluate public records requests based on the public records law, established exemptions, and any unique obligations of the Governor’s Office,” it said.

This as Beacon Hill continues its reputation as the least transparent state government in the entire United States, with the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) last month named Massachusetts the recipient of the 2026 Black Hole Award, “recognizing … a troubling lack of transparency and disregard for the public’s right to know.”

The SPJ cited the very public records law exemption Healey is using for the ICE Misconduct Portal, and also pointed to Senate President Karen Spilka and House Speaker Ron Mariano’s refusal to allow a voter-approved audit of the state Legislature.

The Herald pressed Healey on this following a press conference at the State House on social media legislation, asking the governor her thoughts on the SPJ and how releasing the additional entries

“So, in terms of transparency, I mean, at least as governor, I try to be as transparent as possible. I produce my calendar, I produce other materials, so, I’m going to continue to operate that way,” Healey answered.

The Herald asked Healey if it is transparent to withhold entries to an online portal that she co-created with Campbell, also asking if the entries she is withholding contain unfavorable information.

“Now, the portal was set up because we were receiving so many complaints about unlawful and really cruel and egregious activity by ICE agents in Massachusetts. And I know the AG’s office and my office, I thought it was important that people have a way to report that information. I haven’t seen what the AG office produced, but again, I’ll go back and talk with them,” she said.

Healey and Campbell created the portal last month in an effort to allow the public to report “potentially unlawful activity or misconduct” by federal immigration agents in Massachusetts. Of the four entries the Herald was able to review, none of them contained any pictures, videos or any other evidence supporting their claims — something allowed by the portal.

“ICE vehicles marshalling in parking lot. Doing weapon checks and looking at maps,” said one report, filed March 14 at Corporation Beach in Dennis.

Another person who sent in a complaint reporting an ICE arrest at a redacted location in Cohasset was apparently more concerned about the suspect’s dog than the actual person being taken into custody.

“Armed ICE officers arrested man. What happens to his dog? Can you get animal control there?” read the undated report of an incident that apparently occurred on March 9. This complaint provided no supporting evidence either.

In a report of an incident from March 17, one person reported that an ICE agent had allegedly “harasssed (sic) a high school kid” near Needham High School, but like all of the other reports obtained by the Herald, did not provide any supporting videos, pictures or other evidence, despite the complainant stating they were there as the incident took place.

The most detailed of the reports referred to an incident on March 1, featuring a lengthy description of a “lawful permanent resident’s” encounter with federal agents at Boston Logan International Airport, where they were allegedly detained after returning from a trip abroad and claimed they were interrogated for over 12 hours, not allowed to make phone calls and received no food. Again, no proof of this encounter was provided in the report, which also does not specify whether the federal agents were from ICE or another agency.

The AG’s office says the two reports it withheld contain investigatory materials that reveal confidential sources and would “compromise effective law enforcement by causing a chilling effect on individuals to speak freely with law enforcement without fear of intimidation, retaliation, or invasion of privacy,” if they were to be disclosed to the public.

Shortly after creating the portal, both Healey and Campbell publicly expressed support for using information collected through the portal to prosecute federal agents conducting immigration enforcement operations in Massachusetts.

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