Did You Know there is an I.C.E office in Framingham?

The Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP)—an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program designed to monitor non-detained immigrants—has an office in Framingham to which immigrants are now regularly being sent to have ankle bracelets attached to their bodies and app installed on their phones. Some of these individuals are required to check in on the app at a specific time on specific days and upload a picture of themselves. Others are required to appear in person at the office every week. Sometimes, those who appear are put into vehicles with tinted windows, driven to Hanscom Airforce Base in Bedford, and flown out of state where the judges are less sympathetic to immigrant rights.

It is possible to prevent a person being flown out of state, but only if they have a lawyer and only if that lawyer files a writ of habeas corpus.

Casa de Trabajadores (CASA), a local immigrant-led organization, helps immigrants find attorneys and supports the families of those who are detained or vulnerable to detention.

A few months ago, a man from Ecuador approached CASA for support. In Ecuador, he worked in a mine where the working conditions were incredibly dangerous. He came to the United States but fell into the hands of work traffickers in New York. He was given a job where he was required to work very long hours in poor conditions. If he or anyone complained, the boss would threaten to report them to immigration officials.

He came to Massachusetts and settled in Springfield with his wife and young daughter. One night, ICE broke into their apartment and dragged his wife and daughter out. He was in the bathroom, so they missed him. His wife spent several months in a detention facility in Plymouth in poor conditions. He took care of his daughter and was required to report every week to the ISAP office in Framingham, a two-hour drive from his home in Springfield. This made it very difficult for him to work and support his family.  

CASA volunteers decided to do a standout at the Framingham office from 8:30 to 10:00 AM on Tuesdays, so he and other immigrants would have some support when they came for appointments, and to alert residents to the fact that ICE is operating right in our community. The first time we did it, he came out from his appointment, verbally expressed gratitude to all of us, and then proceeded to hug each of us. His lawyer believes that our presence had an impact on the outcome of his meetings.

After that, they told him not to talk to us and moved his appointment to 8:00 AM. So we started showing up at 8:00. His wife was eventually released on bond. We celebrated. Then they told him he had to buy airplane tickets to take his family out of the country.  He complied and was preparing to leave when ICE again ordered him to report to its offices, this time in Burlington. Once again, he complied.

We went to Burlington to support him, standing on the sidewalk in front of the ICE building. We prayed with him and sang with him. When he went inside, they took him to a room with shackles on the table, according to his lawyer. They ordered him to stand against the wall with his hands behind his back and shackled him. They took him out a back door and put him in a vehicle while we yelled “Shame” at the officers.

Like the majority of immigrants being detained right now, this man has no criminal record. He is a good community member. All he wanted was the chance to build a life in safety and freedom for his family.

Luckily, he has a good attorney, who filed a writ of habeas corpus, so he cannot be taken out of state. But he is now detained in Plymouth. We don’t know for how long.

This is only one story, but this is happening to local families, especially in Framingham and Milford, every week. And we’re expecting a further surge in ICE Activity as the federal government ramps up its mass deportation efforts nationwide. Observers have already noted more agents arriving and more new vehicles.

Your neighbors are in danger. You might think you’re powerless, that there’s nothing you can do to stand up to such strong forces, but there are plenty of ways to take meaningful, supportive action.

You can join CASA’s Tuesday Standouts every week from 8:30-10am at 10 Speen Street in Framingham. (Please do not park in the lot there, but in the lots of nearby businesses.)

You can also volunteer to deliver food to families who need it; to drive children to school; to take people to appointments; to do ICE watch; to be a bond sponsor; or to do a number of organizational tasks for CASA.

 You can start by emailing Allies@mwc-casa.org and stating that you want to help.

Whatever you do, do not look away—this is happening right here in your community and it is up to you and all of us to keep our neighbors safe.