ACTON — Anger over U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Acton sparked a large-scale protest Sunday, just a day after agents detained multiple individuals in the town.
Organized hours earlier, the demonstration drew hundreds of people who gathered outside Acton Town Hall in the afternoon in opposition to the enforcement actions.
The event, “Emergency Protest: Hands Off Acton Families,” was initiated by Lorena Betts, of the Peacemakers Network. Protesters lined the streets in the afternoon, chanting phrases like, “Say it once, say it twice, we will not put up with ICE” and “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here.”
One protester held up a sign featuring an image of President Donald Trump wearing a crown, with a bold red cross striking through it.
“To have maybe 300 to 400 people here less than 24 hours after ICE was arresting Acton residents speaks to how concerned the community really is,” said state Sen. Jamie Eldridge, who was among those who spoke at the rally. “I think that’s important and sends a message of how much disagreement there is with the mass deportation agenda of the Trump-Vance administration.”
On Saturday, Eldridge took to Facebook to share concerns about the detentions, stating that ICE arrested individuals from a Great Road apartment complex and pulled over people driving in a vehicle near Trader Joe’s.
“I have no other information at this time about the people detained, or about ICE’s actions in Acton, but my staff and I are here to try to connect the immigrants arrested with immigration lawyers,” Eldridge said on Facebook. “To the general public, I want to be absolutely clear that this is what ICE is doing, carrying out President Trump’s executive order to deport all undocumented immigrants. And this is now common practice, as another Marlborough constituent of mine was arrested by ICE this week.”
The urgency of Sunday’s protest reflected the alarm felt by members of the community over ICE’s presence, according to Betts, a Chelmsford resident.
“Yesterday in Acton there was a person who was arrested — abducted — by ICE on Great Road,” Betts said after addressing the crowd on Sunday. “He was stopped by ICE and the windows of their truck were smashed. There’s videos of that.”
She added that ICE also maintained a presence for hours at a local condominium complex, where families were also taken into custody. Betts noted that she has not yet spoken to the families involved, but emphasized concerns over ICE enforcement tactics.
“We have not talked directly to the families yet, but we have been seeing a pattern, as we saw in Worcester, with agents saying they don’t need a warrant and they will break windows needlessly and be violent and violate due process, so we are here to say we are paying attention and we will be filming and documenting these events,” Betts said. “We will not intervene in any form, but we are here to be witnesses to this injustice and hopefully the justice system will hold them accountable at some point.”
Also on Sunday, Eldridge stated that he had spoken with Acton Police Chief Jim Cogan, who informed him that the local police department was not involved in ICE’s operations on Saturday. ICE had notified the department earlier in the day about its planned enforcement actions in the town.
Eldridge noted Acton police officers did respond to Great Road on Saturday due to traffic safety concerns surrounding the way ICE agents conducted their operations.
Eldridge added that multiple residents described to him seeing unmarked vans pulling over a driver, with agents wearing masks and vests but lacking any visible ICE insignia. He said this led to a level of confusion among bystanders about who these individuals were.
“I do think it’s important for the Acton Select Board to talk to the Acton Police Department about what is the protocol when ICE agents are in the community,” Eldridge said.
Eldridge added that he had not yet contacted ICE directly but planned to do so in the coming days.
ICE has consistently declined to provide details on ongoing operations, including recently in Lowell, where multiple sightings of agents were reported. The agency cites officer safety as the reason for withholding information.
Follow Aaron Curtis on X @aselahcurtis, or on Bluesky @aaronscurtis.bsky.social.
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