Reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in the Valley within the past year have sparked action from Amherst residents and students.
On May 28, 2025, ICE agents detained two individuals in Amherst. A statement by the Amherst Town Council regarding the incident said that “ICE operated independently from the Town with no prior notification.”
“We have never had such aggressive immigration law enforcement before in our country,” Rebecca Hamlin, professor and director of the legal studies program at the University of Massachusetts, said.
According to a Deportation Data Project report, ICE arrests quadrupled within the first nine months of the second Trump administration.
A report from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) listed Amherst, among 500 other cities, as a sanctuary jurisdiction that is interfering with deportation efforts.
Hamlin said it seemed like a “priority” for President Donald Trump’s second administration for “immigration enforcement [to] be really sort of public, front and center. They’re spending a lot of money on it.”
Free Speech for People, a campaign finance and constitutional rights non-profit with its headquarters in Amherst, has been active in local efforts to combat ICE activity.
“Our democracy is under attack by the very occupant of the White House,” John Bonifaz, a constitutional attorney and president of Free Speech for People, said.
The organization sponsored the recent Amherst Town Council resolution passed on Feb. 23, 2026, urging the state to hold ICE agents accountable. On March 6, 2026, Town Manager Paul Bockelman signed an Executive Order regarding the resolution.
In the press release, Bockelman stated that the Town will not participate in “activities that could undermine public trust or deter residents from accessing essential services, reporting crimes, cooperating with investigations, or sending children to school.”
“It’s really getting our law enforcement folks to enforce the law equally upon ICE agents as they would anyone else in the state of Massachusetts,” Amber Cano-Martin, the District 2 Councilor for Amherst and co-sponsor for the resolution, said.
Free Speech for People also sent a letter to Attorney General Andrea Campbell in Dec. 2025, detailing a number of Massachusetts-based ICE incidents where agents have committed crimes. Campbell has given no formal response.
Bonifaz said that Attorney General Andrea Campell should be doing more to demonstrate that she will act against officers violating state laws.
Cano-Martin has been involved with immigration legislation since the first Trump administration. In 2017, she worked to help pass a sanctuary bylaw in town, prohibiting local law enforcement from working with ICE officers.
Cano-Martin said the town council recently met with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to discuss updating the bylaw, like implementing “sensitive locations” where ICE agents can’t patrol.
“There is only so much you can do with policy,” Martin said. “I think people are really scared.”
Martin also emphasized the importance of community action, preparedness and people protecting their neighbors. She also suggested utilizing resources like the LUCE hotline, a number where suspected ICE sightings can be reported.
Attorney Benjamin Farrell, interim co-director of the UMass Student Legal Services Office (SLSO), explained that the SLSO has focused on helping students prepare for the changing federal landscape regarding immigration.
SLSO hosts “Ask the Attorney” office hours every other Tuesday, where international students can ask immigration related questions. According to the Office of Global Affairs, UMass has over 5,000 international students.
“Last spring [the Trump Administration] were cracking down hard on people with student visas,” Hamlin said. “Students are really worried.”
Compared to the long lines of concerned students last year, Farrell said that “things have calmed down, ICE is probably avoiding college campuses.”
In early February, UMass Students for Sustainable Fashion and Art (SSFA) organized a peace walk titled “Keep ICE Off of our Streets.”
Devan Judson, co-president of SSFA and organizer of the peace walk, found herself scrolling through videos of ICE raids, camps and violence during winter break.
“I think it’s really easy for all of us to feel helpless, to feel like we don’t know what to do to stop it,” Judson said. “But I think it’s better to be doing something than to be doing nothing. Even if the only power we have is to use our voice, it’s worth doing.”
SLSO also offers various resources related to immigration and visa issues on their website, including instructions on what to do if you are detained and a safety planning packet.
SLSO encourages the “buddy system,” where an immigrant student has an assigned U.S. citizen “buddy,” usually someone they already know well. This student has a copy of the immigrant student’s legal documents, safety plan and other crucial information.
The Immigration Legal Resource Center (IRLC) has released “Red Cards,” small portable cards listing out rights protected by the U.S. Constitution, regardless of immigration status. These cards can be found in many areas, including Attorney Farrell’s office.
“I think what’s needed now is for people in local communities, like Amherst, to stand up and demand that our state and local prosecutors carry out their sworn duty to enforce state criminal laws against federal agents when they violate the law,” Bonifaz said.
Hamlin and other UMass faculty members are working on conducting training for faculty who are interested in learning more about immigration issues and being an ally to undocumented students. According to Hamlin, they plan to hold this training in April.
Bella Guthrie can be reached at [email protected].
