Great Barrington — As tensions flare across the country over ongoing actions by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and President Donald J. Trump’s administration, Berkshire County has joined the fray by preparing for and protest against any further actions by ICE.
On Thursday, January 29, Gov. Maura Healey filed legislation that would prevent ICE agents from entering “sensitive” locations, including schools, daycare facilities, child care centers, houses of worship, healthcare facilities, and courthouses.
Gov. Healey also signed an executive order that prohibits Massachusetts from entering any new 287(g) agreements with ICE unless there is a public safety need. According to ICE’s website, the 287(g) program is part of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 and authorizes ICE “to delegate state and local law enforcement officers the authority to perform specified immigration officer functions under ICE’s direction and oversight.”
Gov. Healey’s executive order also prohibits ICE from making civil arrests in non-public areas of state facilities and prohibits the use of state property for immigration enforcement staging.
“In Massachusetts and across the country, we continue to see unlawful and unconstitutional actions by ICE that are meant to intimidate and instill fear in our communities, including against United States citizens who are exercising their constitutional rights,” Gov. Healey is quoted in a press release from her office. “This puts people at risk and in harm’s way, and I find it necessary in the interest of public safety to take this action today.”
Berkshire Hills Regional School District prepares for further ICE actions
At a meeting of the Berkshire Hills Regional School Committee on January 29, District Superintendent Peter Dillon reviewed the school district’s policies and actions relating to ICE enforcement and spoke about the district’s preparation for possible actions in the future.
Dillon said that starting in August the school district has started sharing information with families concerning ICE enforcement activities from various state offices. “We also trained our front office staff around the need for judicial warrants [in cases of ICE enforcement] and contacting a small group of people, including me, school principals, and our attorneys, who can evaluate the veracity and applicability of documents,” Dillon said. “Trying to read a warrant and figure out whether it’s appropriate or not is a pretty heavy lift. That’s why [it’s important] to get it to me, the principals, and our attorneys so they can review it.”
Dillon added that the school district has partnered with immigrant groups and nonprofit organizations to share legal advice with families and has hired a full-time school district family liaison who “is in contact with impacted families.”
“What has been happening in Minnesota and Maine has just been terrible,” Dillon said. “Families and students feel vulnerable. It’s a really tough time to be an immigrant and to be a person of color in our country. All this contributes to a negative impact on [student] attendance and achievement. We’re all impacted by this, but particularly impacted groups are hit even harder. Their attendance is off, and attendance is foundational for progress. We are trying really hard to refine [the school district’s] deliberate systems to respond to this without drawing too much attention to the work that we’re doing. [That is] because there is a pattern of, if you’re very vocal about it, if you make a lot of noise, then your community is the next community that is impacted.”
Dillion was asked if the school district had a contingency plan in place for remote learning for students who might be too scared to come to school. “I think part of what we learned in COVID was that remote learning wasn’t great, but it could be better than nothing,” he responded. “We should have a strong contingency plan if we need to pivot on a moment’s notice. Candidly, we don’t right now, but we could.”
School committee member William Fields recalled how the district previously dealt with an incident involving ICE agents. “It involved [ICE agents] following a car up into Monument [Mountain Regional High School], observing kids getting out of that car going into school,” he said. “That car was then followed to Monterey where the people who were being followed were arrested and taken to detention centers. They were gardeners.”
Fields asked Dillon whether ICE agents can drive up to school buildings and observe and take photographs of people getting out of cars.
Dillon corrected Fields that in the incident Fields referenced, the ICE agents followed the car to Tyringham not Monterey, and said he would have to check with the school district’s attorneys on whether or not agents could observe people on school property.
However, Dillon clarified that ICE agents could not enter a school building without a valid warrant.
Berkshire County stands up against ICE
On Friday, January 30, Great Barrington businesses Bon Dimanche and Hart took part in a national general strike.
On Saturday, January 31, South County Resistance organized an “ICE Out of Everywhere” protest in front of Great Barrington Town Hall. Despite being organized in just two days, the protest drew over 200 people.
“ICE is a part of a bigger plan to take down democracy as we know it,” protester Michael Glasser from West Stockbridge told The Berkshire Edge. “ICE is terrorizing our population and going after the weakest people instead of serving the weakest people.”
“At least for this week, we have the right to protect our community and we have a First Amendment right to free speech,” Jeff Schneider from the group South County Resistance said. “The vast majority of citizens are alarmed at the actions of this fascist government, and it is we the people who need to resist.”
Many of the attendees also protested the arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort who covered an anti-ICE protest at a church in Minnesota.
“I feel like the core problem of what’s happening now is that a bunch of ignorant bullies are using their power and their violence to destroy freedom of speech and to kill innocent Americans in the streets who are against these evil policies,” Heather Bilotta from Otis said. “We all have to keep showing up, coming out in brutally cold weather, and having our voice. We have to come together.”
A few hours after the protest, State Rep. Leigh Davis (D – 3rd Berkshire District) posted on social media that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has terminated Temporary Protected Status for Haiti, effective Tuesday, February 3. “[This] change could affect many in our community and leave many without legal status and work authorization,” Davis writes. “With this coming change, we also anticipate an ICE enforcement surge in Massachusetts and nationwide next week.”
Davis reposted information from the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute and the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition on what immigrants and their employers need to know before an ICE arrest, including information about workers’ rights and Form I-9 documentation. 
That guidance can be found here.
Editor’s note: A few hours after this article was published, a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from terminating the Temporary Protected Status for Haiti.
At around 10 p.m. on February 2, Governor Healey issued the following statement:
“Tonight, Haitian families across our state and country can breathe a sigh of relief. Many Haitian TPS holders have been in the United States since as early as 2010. They were given an opportunity for a new life in this country away from famine, violence and a deadly earthquake, and they have lived, worked and integrated into our communities ever since. For the federal government to have essentially reneged on that promise of relief while Haiti remains in a state of humanitarian crisis is cruel. This ruling is important for Haitian families here. It also protects against a harmful disruption to the Massachusetts’ economy, as Haitian TPS holders are an integral part of our workforce, particularly in the health care sector. If President Trump had his way, thousands of nurses, home health aides, and other essential employees would not have been able to work tomorrow, and patients and families who are dependent on caregivers would have suffered. We are notifying employers across the state that their employees are still eligible to work. My heart is with the Haitian community tonight, as well as the other communities whose protected status continues to be under attack by President Trump and Secretary Noem. We will continue to fight for you.”Â
Previous reporting from The Berkshire Edge:
