Inform MIC Partners, local and state government officials, and other service providers regarding MIC position and language choice on this issue
April 8, 2025
Many immigrant communities served by the 15 partner organizations of the Massachusetts Immigrant Collaborative (MIC) have been impacted by ICE activities including unjust criminalization of immigrants, arrests and detentions. While MIC does not track the immigration status of individuals seeking assistance, those detained, nor numbers detained, we have received reports indicating detentions as having some or all of the following characteristics:
- The threat of raids, including targeting of individuals without criminal backgrounds, generates widespread fear in affected communities.
- Exacerbating fears are occurrences of militarized raids with weapons brandished and without judicial warrants. These incidents may violate state and due process laws.
- Similarly, use of force such as breaking in doors, use of battering rams, entering without consent and/or prior to displaying a judicial arrest warrant, is also common.
- Individuals with no criminal background have been targeted and detained.
- Individuals targeted often include those employed by local businesses, who pay taxes and serve as main breadwinners for their families.
- Removal of arrested individuals to far away or out of state detention facilities inhibits their ability to communicate with family members, their support system, and severely limits their ability to access legal representation.
MIC deplores this scaled up Department of Homeland Security and ICE campaign of intimidation and detentions principally targeting working people. These immigrant workers assume a vital role supporting our local, state and national economies, and our communities.
As a result: Children are too often withheld from school and many families avoid going out thus limiting or cutting off their access to vital resources and services. This has a negative impact not only on their emotional and physical health, safety and stability, but also on area businesses, and the sense of community- a cherished characteristic foundational to our national identity and well-being.
