Following reports that “masked men purporting to be ICE agents abducted individuals off our streets in unmarked cars” in Boxborough on Friday, May 30, 2025, a crowd of over 200 people gathered peacefully at Acton Town Hall on Sunday June 1, 2025, for what was described as an “emergency protest”.
Many people held hand-made signs. One said, “Seeking asylum’s legal.” Another said, “Immigrants make this country great. We stand with immigrants.”
Betts: Human Cost of Raids
Lorena Betts, President and Community Organizer for The Peacemakers Network, kicked off the protest at Acton Town Hall by describing harsh realities faced by immigrant families. She detailed accounts of mothers taken from their children and husbands left to explain their absence. Betts said that “Black and Brown citizens, neighbors, workers, people who are here legally are being taken ‘by mistake’ because they look like someone undocumented.”
Betts described fear gripping immigrant communities. “Blinds stay shut. Doors stay locked. People are watching their backs.” She said that this isn’t the life of criminals but of “hardworking immigrants. People who contribute, who belong, and who are being treated like a threat.” Drawing on her own experiences as a Brazilian American, she shared, “I’ve been told to go back to Mexico, even though that’s not where I’m from.”
Betts urged the community to “turn to each other” and commit to “sustained care and action.” Citing the work of author Peter Block, she emphasized that change comes not from “fixing people” but by “changing the conversation” and building relationships based on trust and shared ownership. She challenged attendees to shift their perspective from “How can we help them?” to “What are we willing to stand for, side by side?” Betts concluded with a powerful call for collective action and belonging, leading the crowd in a unified declaration: “No more lies. No more raids. No more silence. Immigrant families belong here. We belong here. And we belong to each other.”
Leela Ramachandran: “We keep each other safe”
Leela Ramachandran, vice chair for the Acton-Boxborough Regional School Committee, spoke at the emergency protest, expressing profound distress over the ongoing immigration raids. While clarifying she was not speaking on behalf of any organization, Ramachandran conveyed her struggle to reconcile the “inhumanity” of federal agents “ripping families apart” with her belief in inherent human good. She stated, “There are people with the power to do a lot of things and they’ve chosen to wage a war on immigrant families.”
Ramachandran highlighted the impact on children, noting that “our children had to see masked federal agents while on their way to school” and that “kids are left to figure things out in a way that is inappropriate for their age.” She stressed that these traumatic experiences may have long-term effects on young people. She urged the audience to view the current situation not in isolation, but as part of a broader historical context, connecting it to systemic failures in addressing police and prisons. Ramachandran argued that decades of allowing brutalization and the “narrative that renders some people unworthy of dignity” have paved the way for the current crisis, resulting in “no significant mechanisms for accountability across the prison industrial complex — and this includes the unfair criminalization of immigrants and folks being racially profiled.”
She also reminded the attendees that they were on “stolen land,” drawing parallels to the overlooked violence against Indigenous women. Ramachandran praised grassroots efforts like LUCE (Liberation, Unity, Community, Esperanza/Hope) for mobilizing to protect immigrant neighbors. She concluded by urging the community to remain vigilant and supportive, even if federal actions subside in Acton, emphasizing, “We keep each other safe.”
Nicol: “No More Raids, No More Fear, No More Silence”
Acton Select Board Vice Chair Alissa Nicol expressed a mix of “anger, but in deep sorrow and fierce resolve” regarding recent immigration raids. She condemned the federal actions, stating, “These raids, conducted without proper warrants, without transparency, without respect for due process, are not just unlawful – they are inhumane.”
Nicol highlighted the impact of these raids on families, children, and essential community members. She said that immigration enforcement does not grant agencies the right to disregard the U.S. Constitution, racially profile, or detain individuals without cause. She clarified the protestors’ stance, asserting, “We are not against laws — we are against injustice. We are not against security and criminal enforcement — we are against actions that make our communities less safe.”
Referring to both US Representative Jamie Raskin and US Senator Cory Booker, Nicol underscored the importance of democratic principles and the people’s power in a free society. She echoed Raskin’s sentiment that “Democracy is not just a static collection of rules and practices. It is an unfinished project in motion, a constant work in progress.” Nicol also invoked Thomas Jefferson’s idea, as cited by Booker, that “When the public fears their government, there is tyranny. When the government fears its people, there is liberty!”
Nicol concluded by affirming the necessity of such gatherings to prevent the normalization of “lawless acts” and called for accountability for those in power, and immigration policies grounded in justice and human rights. She rallied the attendees with a declaration: “No more raids. No more fear. No more silence.”
Winter: “We Are the True Patriots”
Rebecca Winter, representing the Leadership Council of Mass 50501 and speaking as an Acton resident and mother, delivered an address at the protest, directly challenging the federal government’s immigration practices. She opened by referencing the recent “kidnapping” of an 18-year-old Milford High School student by ICE, emphasizing, “This is a high school Junior. He is a child. As a teacher and a mother I am here to say this cannot stand.”
Winter said, “The federal government is trying to brainwash us into thinking that our immigrant neighbors are our enemies. They will have us believe that ICE is only detaining violent ‘illegal’ immigrants. Let me tell you right now, they are lying to us.” She clarified that being undocumented is a civil, not criminal, violation, and cited instances of legal residents and even U.S. citizens being detained. Winter underscored the severity of the situation, declaring, “This is America in 2025, and it is unacceptable that our neighbors are being kidnapped and trafficked to overseas prisons by paid masked civilian bounty hunters parading as federal agents.”
She lauded the attendees as “true patriots” and issued a clear call to action for state and local officials. Winter urged citizens to “call on Governor Maura Healey to declare a statewide policy of non-cooperation with ICE” and to “call on Attorney General Andrea Campbell to prosecute ICE for kidnapping Massachusetts residents under state law.” She also pressed the Acton Police Department to uphold their constitutional oath and protect residents from unlawful detentions. Winter concluded by asserting that “the people of Massachusetts demand action — and we will stand united, unwavering, and unstoppable for the rights and dignity of our immigrant neighbors.”
Greg Jarboe writes on a variety of topics for the Acton Exchange. He is a former editor of the Acton Minuteman and a former chair of the Acton Select Board, and a current member of the Acton Finance Committee, Public Works Facility Committee, and the Economic Development Committee.