A wave of arrests conducted by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents in recent days has plunged immigrant communities in Massachusetts into a state of deep anxiety.
According to reports from GBH News, approximately fifty arrests have been recorded since Sunday across several municipalities, including Worcester, Framingham, Waltham, and Boston.
“They apprehended my partner without letting him speak — they seized his personal belongings and kept him in a vehicle for five hours while they continued making other arrests,” recounted Maria Gonzalez, the partner of Carlos Ramirez, a 25-year-old Guatemalan immigrant who was detained in Framingham while heading to work.
According to the LUCE Immigrant Justice Network of Massachusetts, which closely monitors these operations, these arrests could be part of a new detention campaign announced by ICE’s interim director. Last March, 370 individuals were apprehended in the Boston area in less than a week. In comparison, the federal agency had conducted approximately 900 arrests throughout New England during the year 2024.
When contacted by GBH, an ICE representative declined to comment on current operations, citing “operational security imperatives.”
Ramirez’s case is not isolated. In Worcester, multiple members of the same family were arrested, including a grandmother who was detained without a warrant while coming to assist her daughter who was caring for a newborn.
“When the young mother called her elderly mother for help with the baby, ICE agents proceeded to arrest the grandmother without a warrant as well,” states a release from the LUCE network.
Residents alerted the Worcester police. Spokesperson Sean Murtha indicated via email to GBH News that local law enforcement was only contacted after ICE’s intervention: “Our officers responded following a report about a hostile crowd gathering around a federal agent.”
Two individuals were detained by Worcester law enforcement during this operation, including a community activist and a 16-year-old minor, according to multiple witnesses at the scene.
Etel Haxhiaj, a Worcester City Council member who was present at the location, strongly condemned the aggressive nature of the arrests: “As a mother, daughter of immigrants, and resident of this neighborhood, I cannot remain silent while our families are being forcefully torn apart.”
Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty expressed being “deeply disturbed” by these incidents and called for a thorough investigation.
“The fear of ICE coming to separate a family represents the ultimate nightmare for many residents of our city. We simply cannot accept such practices in our community,” he emphasized, according to GBH.
As Mother’s Day approaches, the anxiety of family separations haunts several Massachusetts neighborhoods. Local organizations, particularly Neighbor to Neighbor, are mobilizing to provide legal and psychological support to affected families.
Recently, ICE’s interim director had announced the agency’s imminent return to Boston to resume mass immigrant arrests. Several international students were apprehended following their participation in demonstrations against Israeli actions in Palestine.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had warned that any immigrant participating in “disruptive actions” would face deportation.
