BURLINGTON — A group of Pioneer Valley residents made the journey Wednesday morning to participate in the weekly Bearing Witness New England demonstration outside the New England headquarters for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), emphasizing the importance of having statewide representation.
Franklin County Continuing the Political Revolution (FCCPR), a local grassroots organization committed to progressive causes, helped organize transportation by chartering a bus with 48 passengers to make the roughly 100-mile trip, with more carpooling. People came from Franklin and Hampshire counties to join the demonstration, with more than 100 others in attendance.
Patricia Williams, a member of FCCPR and Greenfield’s Precinct 6 city councilor, who helped organize the trip, said this is not the first time western Massachusetts has been represented at the weekly rally, but this is the “first big leap in growth” of locals coming out to demonstrate, with “a whole lot of people” from Franklin County in attendance.
Demonstration history
The weekly standouts began in April 2025 and have been reoccurring on Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. outside the ICE Boston Field Office at 1000 District Ave. The standouts feature speakers and musicians, along with information tables and supplies given to people coming and going.
The standout was first co-organized by Jared and Laurie Berezin, who were quickly joined by others. Laurie Berezin said this marks the 58th week of the demonstration.
The website for Bearing Witness explicitly states that the demonstrators “always stand peacefully” outside the ICE facility, and during Wednesday’s remarks, Laurie Berezin reiterated the peaceful nature of the demonstration, along with where on the property people are allowed to gather to not obstruct traffic or building entrances. Demonstrators are also advised not to engage with any counter-protesters.
Notably, arrests have occurred in the past, with 11 people arrested in April who were trying to deliver care packages to detainees. Burlington Police stated that the group of around 40 people was blocking an entrance to the facility, according to the Boston Globe.
WBUR reported last year that lawyers have said the conditions inside the facility are “abysmal” and “unsanitary,” and their clients are “hungry, cold and terrified.” While the facility was designed to be an administrative space for workers and to temporarily hold detainees before transport to other facilities, people are being held for days at a time in some cases, like Marcelo Gomes da Silva, who was taken by ICE while going to volleyball practice in June 2025 and was held for six days.
Lawmakers have also visited the facility, including Rep. Jim McGovern, who recently recounted his visit during a Greenfield town hall, calling it a “shocking” experience.
Massachusetts has seen a surge of immigration arrests since the Trump administration took office, with 7,030 people arrested by ICE as of March 2025, according to a report from WBUR. Forty-six percent of these arrests involve people with no pending criminal charges or convictions, but who were marked for not having legal status.
Speakers at Wednesday’s demonstration addressed conditions inside the facility just yards behind them as people came in and out, including small children.
“Immigrants are rounded up and imprisoned in overcrowded cells, and there are no beds, so immigrants are forced to sleep on concrete floors,” Laurie Berezin said in her remarks, listing a series of conditions that demonstrators responded to with shouts of “shame.”
Wednesday’s guest speaker was state Rep. Dave Rogers, who represents the 24th Middlesex District. He spoke in support of the Immigrant Legal Defense Fund, which he and other lawmakers, in partnership with the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, helped get approved. He described the weekly demonstrations as “very American,” adding that as people see tyranny take hold in the United States, “we’re not going to stand for it.”
After the speakers and music concluded, people lined up to read the United States Constitution, including Martin Wohl of Northampton. A march was then held as people walked down District Avenue.
Western Mass representation
While this weekly demonstration pulls people from across Massachusetts and New England, western Massachusetts made an impact on organizers, who were made aware of the delegation coming to participate.
“The folks in Burlington were very excited that we were coming, and because there’s so much support for immigrants in western Mass, people wanted to be able to come to a place to stand together,” Williams said when asked what it meant to represent the area.
Jared Berezin said seeing the delegation from the Pioneer Valley “truly warms [his] heart.” He emphasized how this ICE facility creates a statewide impact and how this demonstration is not held during a convenient time of day for most to attend.
“The fact that people would travel hours to get here to show support for their neighbors, stand up for the Constitution, and to stand in solidarity with us, means a great deal,” he said.
Pixie Holbrook of Conway and Ferd Wulkan of Montague are both FCCPR Coordinating Committee members, and Holbrook is chair of the FCCPR Immigration Task Force. They shared a similar sentiment that attending Wednesday’s demonstration was an inspiring experience, and Holbrook said it helped her connect with others.
Wulkan said people have been grateful for the presence of western Mass residents, noting that the response is “heartwarming” and “reinforces our desire to keep doing this work.”
Holbrook, noting that it wasn’t her first time at the Burlington demonstration, said the first experience was “impactful” and showed just how universal the issue of ICE is in the state, as just after her first attendance, new fleets of vehicles were sent out across Massachusetts. Wulkan offered a solemn reflection of his own family’s immigration experience.
“My parents fled the Holocaust here and were refugees in this country,” he said. “I think about them a lot when I’m here.”
