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NEW BEDFORD — More than 100 people gathered in Riverside Park Sunday afternoon to call for the release of those detained during a recent immigration enforcement surge on the South Coast.
The demonstrators came from across Massachusetts at the behest of LUCE, a statewide network of advocates that monitors U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity throughout the commonwealth.
“We pray for the men, women, and children detained by ICE,” said Brother Brave Fung, an Episcopal monk with the Community of Francis and Clare. “We pray for the broken families torn apart suddenly by the disappearance of their loved ones.”
The protest was a reaction to ICE’s mass arrests on the South Coast last month, concentrating on New Bedford on Sept. 21 and 22.
Demands put forward by LUCE included that ICE “release everyone” detained during the surge; that Gov. Maura Healey “provide substantial support to affected families and communities”; that elected officials including the governor and Mayor Jon Mitchell advocate on immigrants’ behalf; and that the U.S. Congress institute comprehensive immigration reform.
Healey said about 40 people were detained during the September ICE arrests in New Bedford. On Oct. 21, ICE issued a news release that said its agents had detained 82 people in a three-day operation in southeastern Massachusetts. The agency identified only seven of those detained, all of whom allegedly had criminal charges. Only one of those, João Ferreira, had been previously identified by The Light.
A statewide analysis of state and federal court documents by The Light shortly after the surge ended found that only four of 23 men, including Ferreira, had criminal charges on their records in Massachusetts.
The surge left Acushnet Avenue nearly deserted for a week, as immigrants and their families stayed home out of fear, skipping work and leaving their homes only when necessary.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Petronila Morales, the owner of Restaurante y Tortillería Guatemalteco, told The Light a day after it recorded the arrests of two men by federal agents outside. “This restaurant always has at least two or three people here at tables eating.
“Everyone is so scared,” she added. “No one is coming out.”
In a September interview with The Light, Mayor Mitchell said there was little the City could do.
“The unfortunate part is, as frustrating as it has been, there’s not a lot that the local government or state government, frankly, can be doing,” he said. “But we want people to know that if they need to understand their legal rights, that we’re going to help them understand them.”
Protest
During Sunday’s event, demonstrators cheered as Ricardo Rosa, a Cabo Verdean community advocate, criticized municipal leaders for a lack of reaction to the raids.
“In extraordinary times, we don’t need ordinary municipal leaders,” Rosa said. “Refuse to cooperate with ICE and actively obstruct [ICE’s] lawlessness.”
State Rep. Christopher Hendricks, of the Bristol 11th District, attended the event to show his support to the demonstrators.
“It’s incumbent on us and incumbent on us as a community that we all stick together like this,” he said, “so when we see those injustices, we not only know what to do, but we can be there for one another.”
New Bedford Public Schools Supt. Andrew O’Leary also attended. O’Leary has repeatedly voiced support for immigrant communities since the mass deportation agenda of President Donald Trump’s second term hit New Bedford. On Oct. 5, in reaction to the surge, the School Committee voted almost unanimously to enact guidelines in line with the PROTECT Act for interactions with ICE at schools.
Also present was At-Large City Councilor James Roy. The progressive said at an Oct. 21 meeting of the New Bedford Human Rights Commission that he would bring forward to the full City Council the commission’s idea to put forward an ordinance prohibiting the use of city property for civil immigration enforcement.
The September raids brought the total count to well over 100 detained in the New Bedford area since early 2025.
Contact Kevin G. Andrade at kandrade@newbedfordlight.org
