Berkshire County — As widely reported by local media outlets, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) made its presence known in Lenox and Pittsfield on Wednesday, March 19.
Josh Landes from WAMC Northeast Public Radio first broke the news on his Facebook page that ICE visited Lenox Commons.
In The Berkshire Eagle, Greg Sukiennik and Heather Bellow reported that ICE agents specifically visited Antimony Brewing at 55 Pittsfield Road at Lenox Commons searching for a person.
The agents also reportedly went to M&D Auto Sales at 105 Fourth Street in Pittsfield and made an arrest.
When contacted by The Berkshire Edge for any further details on ICE’s presence in Lenox, a representative from the Lenox Police Department, who did not identify themselves, wrote via email that they knew “only the same information you already have” and did not provide any further details.
The Pittsfield Police Department did not respond to requests for comment for this story by press time.
In an email to The Berkshire Edge, Berkshire District Attorney’s Office Chief of Operations Julia Sabourin wrote that her agency was not made aware of any details regarding ICE’s presence in Berkshire County and did not have any further details. Previously, both the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office and Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office announced that they would not engage with ICE in its enforcement activities.
In Lee, social media reports circulated that ICE personnel were in the downtown area on March 19.
The Berkshire Edge has confirmed that multiple individuals along Lee’s Main Street observed about six black unmarked vehicles streaming down the roadway at a high rate of speed with lights flashing and sirens blaring around 12:30 p.m. on March 19.
Brady Cook, an employee of Starving Artist Cafe & Creperie on Lee’s Main Street, was taking a break outside at 12:30 p.m. yesterday when she noticed “three or four unmarked black vehicles that looked like they would be police cars,” sounding sirens and with lights turned on. “They all went by and I said, ‘Oh, that’s so strange,’” Cook recounted. She said the street doesn’t “typically” see such vehicles.
Vehicles meeting the same description were reportedly headed toward Housatonic Street, with verified reports showing five black unmarked vehicles and one van parked in the Big Y lot on Pleasant Street, between the grocery and the Lee Package Store, around the same time.
According to one owner of a business in that center, individuals with black shirts emerged from the vehicles, with those shirts bearing “ICE” and “FBI.” The Berkshire Edge reached out to the area’s regional Federal Bureau of Investigation department regarding that agency’s involvement in the Lee event but did not hear back by press time.
One employee at a downtown Lee business spoke on the condition of anonymity. That person said they received a call around noon on March 19 that “ICE was in Lee.” When asked what happened next, the employee said, “we sent everybody home.”
Although a report stated an individual was taken into custody by ICE from Lee and transported to a Burlington, Mass., correctional facility as a result of the visit, The Berkshire Edge could not positively confirm that any detainees taken from Lee, Lenox, or Pittsfield are or were housed at a Burlington institution stemming from March 19 events.
In a March 20 telephone interview, Lee Chief of Police Craig W. DeSantis stated he had no comment on any potential raid or involvement of ICE in the town “other than the police department didn’t help coordinate and had nothing to do with the ICE operations yesterday.” He confirmed that, since the Trump administration began, ICE has not approached his office regarding any raids planned in Lee and he has no knowledge of such future events to occur in the town.
As of 4:20 p.m. on March 20, Melissa Canavan, executive director of the Berkshire Immigrant Center (BIC), said she didn’t have any more details regarding the prior day’s ICE visits than what had already been reported about the Pittsfield and Lenox raids. However, she reaffirmed her group’s mission of assisting the local immigrant community through legal support, referrals to immigration attorneys, and providing needed resources.
“If someone requires help, we strongly encourage them to contact BIC directly,” Canavan said.
Via its X (formerly Twitter) page, the Boston field office of ICE stated that it is working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security, and Drug Enforcement Administration in its enforcement efforts.
