ICE Raids Don't Materialize In Massachusetts

BOSTON — In response to the Trump administration's vow to order U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids this weekend, there were dozens of rallies Friday and Saturday across Massachusetts. Politicians braced for potential raids by informing residents of their rights. And the immigrant community braced, too.

ICE raids were reported in cities like New York over the weekend. No raids were reported in the Bay State this weekend and it seemed the "mass" raids promised by the government failed to materialize. Still, gathering places in some immigrant enclaves around Boston were noticeably quiet Sunday, The Boston Globe reported. And it didn't stop immigrant community members from feeling anxious.

ICE had announced that it would target some 2,000 undocumented immigrants in 10 major cities, as part of the Trump Administrations' delayed ICE raids, but Boston was not on the list. Still, the city's Office of Immigrant Advancement sent out an email to some 280 community partners ahead of the weekend outlining rights and promising to do what it could to protect immigrant community members. And many state legislators took to Twitter posting information about what rights immigrants had.

Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal at Boston-based Lawyers for Civil Rights said his organization has followed up on every report over the past two days, and so far have no confirmed immigration enforcement activity.

"At Lawyers for Civil Rights, we strongly believe the whole point of the immigration raids — whether actual or threatened — is to make life unlivable for immigrant families and children. The federal government is inflicting profound terror, fear, cruelty and brutality on families and children," he told Patch.

The ACLU of Massachusetts did not return request for comment for this article.

Related:

• Protesters Rally Against ICE Raids In MA Statehouse
• Amid Threat Of ICE Raids, Boston Will Protect Immigrants: Mayor

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).