At lunchtime on Friday, August 1, an employee at Sorrento’s Pizzeria in Acton was taken by four masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. The employee, Lucas Ribeiro Dos Passos, lives in Ayer, within State Representative Danillo Sena’s and State Senator Jamie Eldridge’s districts. The Brazilian native is 27 years old, according to Rep. Sena, and has worked full time at Sorrento’s on Main St. for two years. WGBH news reported about the detainment on August 5.
Conant School teacher Tracy Hodsdon had just arrived at Sorrento’s when she saw the four men who appeared to be ICE agents in the building asking to see a particular employee.
Ms. Hodsdon asked the agents if they had a warrant, but her question was ignored. One agent told her, “We’re on business here,” and then pushed her out of the way.
During the operation, Ms. Hodsdon took some pictures and yelled at the agents, who grew agitated by her actions. She said that one of the agents pulled her aside to try to calm her down, saying that they were “just doing their job.”
When Dos Passos came out from the back of the store, he was handcuffed and taken away.
Acton resident Danny Factor entered the restaurant for a lunch date after Dos Passos was handcuffed. “Sorrento’s is a very small place, probably five steps from the doorway to the counter,” Factor said in an interview with the Acton Exchange. “I walked in and took one step and I was practically right up against the ICE officers and the abductee.”
Factor continued, “It was terrifying and somber. The men all wore masks. You could mostly only see their eyes…The agents acted as inhumanly as possible. They would not turn their heads. They acted as if we were invisible.”
Factor said the other employees looked helpless. “Pizza operations had stopped and the three of them were at the counter, not saying a word, just staring. I don’t want to speak to anyone else’s emotions, but there was a feeling of powerlessness everywhere.” As the agents left, both Tracy and Danny yelled, ‘Shame, shame, shame!’” Factor and Hodsdon both saw additional agents outside the building.
Dos Passos’ family told Sena that the young man came into the country three years ago, applied for asylum, obtained a work permit and social security number, and has an active driver’s license. Dos Passos was told when he applied that there were no court [appointments] available for his case, Sena said.
Sena said that Dos Passos is the first person taken in the recent spate of ICE raids who has been a constituent in his district. “It is causing fear among the immigrant community,” he said in a phone interview. “If you are there with your family, and young kids witness such an arrest, it can be traumatizing.”
“If there was anything, it was traffic violations. For him to be arrested like that by federal agents in masks…they appear prepared for a war…very heavily equipped. It shows an abuse of power…The [techniques they are using] do not make sense. It is a lack of democratic values when you see agents covering [their faces] with a mask… I know there are scenarios [in which] it is important to use those things, when there are violent crimes, but not after civil violations, when they want to deport someone who wants a chance at the American dream…We can’t close the doors completely to people who are trying to improve their lives.”
Sena added that he believes the Trump administration is using racism “to go after low-income, working individuals, usually brown and black… It’s not right. We need to call it out.”
State Senator Jamie Eldridge returned a call from the Acton Exchange during his summer vacation. “It is chilling that the Trump administration is now directing ICE agents to go into people’s workplaces and arrest undocumented immigrants. And you know the vast majority of undocumented immigrants are hardworking, have no criminal record, and came here for a better life. To think that the workplace now is a place that is a target by ICE really creates a chilling effect, not only for vulnerable immigrants but immigrant-owned businesses and in the general economy.”
“I want to really express my deep appreciation of Rep. Danillo Sena,” Eldridge said. “He was the one who reached out to the business and to the family, and worked to get a lawyer for the employee.”
Eldridge said ICE tends to hold people temporarily at the county jail and then transfers them to a detention facility out of state. He said that was the experience of a Brazilian immigrant, Lucas Amaral, from Marlborough, who was recently detained. Amaral was ultimately released, Eldridge said.
“This is why I continue to advocate to pass the Safe Communities Act and other legislation to protect immigrants, because, at the very least, we want to make sure local and state police are not enforcing Federal immigration law.”
The Acton Exchange asked Town Manager John Mangiaratti by email whether the Acton Police Department (APD) was informed by ICE of their impending arrival, as they had been before other raids, and about the Town’s response. Mangiaratti responded, “APD was not contacted at any point by ICE regarding this incident. APD became aware of the situation when an officer on patrol drove by Sorrento’s and noticed the ICE activity. The officer relayed this information to dispatch and administration. APD has not had any contact with ICE on this situation or any possible future enforcements…If the business or the family members need assistance, we are available. We will do our best to provide support and access to resources.”
Franny Osman and Miriam Lezak are editors and occasional writers for the Acton Exchange.