GREENFIELD — The Class of 2026 at Four Rivers Charter Public School wants to “pop the bubble” in western Massachusetts with its 50-minute documentary on the impact of federal immigration policies and actions in western Massachusetts.
The documentary, titled “Living Through Fear: The Resilience of Immigrants in the United States,” explores the history of immigration in the U.S. and the local impact that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has had in the Pioneer Valley, with a screening on Thursday, May 7, at 7:30 p.m. at the Garden Cinemas.
The school is continuing a tradition where seniors create a documentary as part of their English and Humanities curriculum. The idea of looking to “pop the bubble,” senior Vivian Wasileski explained, came as a description of what the documentary would showcase as a film based in a progressive state.
“In western Massachusetts, we tend to have a feeling that nothing bad that happens in the rest of the world affects us. We’re in this perfect, little progressive paradise and everything is beautiful,” Wasileski said. “But that’s not the case. ICE is active around here. ICE is hurting immigrants around here, so our large goal of this was to show local immigrant stories and how ICE has affected people locally.”
According to the American Immigration Council, a non-partisan nonprofit, the number of people being held by ICE across the United States has grown by 75% since January 2025 when the Trump administration returned to the White House, equating to a record 73,000 people being held in detention.
The changing practices — including large increases in detention facilities, funding through fiscal year 2029 for further detention expansion as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and “at-large” arrests taking place in communities increasing by 600% — have led to a 2,450% increase in the number of people being held in ICE detention who do not have a criminal record.
In Massachusetts, a Democratic-led and largely progressive state, ICE enforcement operations have taken place on several occasions, with WBUR reporting that, according to data from ICE, the state has seen 7,030 immigration arrests over the last 15 months under the Trump administration — a fivefold increase compared to the 1,470 arrests that took place under the Biden administration. Forty-six percent of the arrests were of people without pending criminal charges or convictions, but were marked for not having legal status in the U.S., despite claims by Trump that the administration is targeting criminals.
Wasileski and senior Andrew Rowan both explained how the students took the lead on the creation of their documentary, with teams of students taking on different production elements of the film, and some of the music and animation done by students. The students were able to access cameras from Greenfield Community Television and Northampton Open Media, and also received support from documentarian Jasper Fletcher.
Originally, the students had two ideas for what the documentary should focus on, with one subject being political polarization and the other about ICE in western Massachusetts. After spirited debates and votes taken by members of the senior class, ICE was the chosen topic, and the documentary began production in February.
Interviewees include local immigrants, activists, politicians and lawyers. People from across the Pioneer Valley are included in the film, with interviews taking place in Greenfield, Montague, Gill, Amherst, Northampton and Springfield, as well as in Framingham and Burlington.
Students received help from their teachers in making the connections with immigrant interviewees to be featured in the documentary. Some shared stories of their experiences being detained by ICE or dealing with immigration-related issues previously. There are no interviews with recently detained individuals.
“We had a few immigrants who shared their stories, and they were just telling us about what it’s been like for them as an immigrant in this country, and a lot of them had stories of people they’ve worked with, or family or friends who are also immigrants and told some of those stories,” Rowan explained.
Due to the sensitive nature of the subject, Wasileski explained that initially, she thought people would want to be anonymous for the documentary, but each person interviewed was willing to have their name and face shown. Additionally, interviewees were interested in supporting the film, knowing it was being spearheaded by students, Wasileski explained.
With editing nearly completed, Wasileski and Rowan reflected on the origins of the documentary’s subject matter.
“This was really just what we wanted to do,” Rowan explained, adding, “I remember a lot of conversations at lunch with friends during that time where we were choosing our topic, and the words, ‘We have to do ICE,’ was said so many times. We wanted it to matter and make a difference.”
Wasileski also highlighted the fact that this is a documentary that centers on local people and stories compared to previous student documentary subjects that took on broad themes such as climate change, saying that this is “truly a documentary about western Massachusetts.”
The students’ desire to make a difference is built into how the story is told. The documentary tackles the issue at hand, but also aims to leave viewers with a sense that there is a way to make a difference in the latter part of the film, with highlights of the people and organizations doing the work to support the western Massachusetts immigrant community, Wasileski and Rowan explained. As part of the screening at the Garden Cinemas, a portion of ticket sales will go to local immigrant rights organizations, including the LUCE Immigrant Justice Network of Massachusetts.
Looking ahead to next Thursday, both Wasileski and Rowan agree that there is one feeling they want audience members to come away with after seeing the documentary: “hope.”
“Living Through Fear: The Resilience of Immigrants in the United States” will be shown at the Garden Cinemas, 361 Main St., on Thursday, May 7, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $12 and can be purchased online at tinyurl.com/2duvmtmw or at the door the day of the show.
