February 2, 2025
No ICE raids in region this week, but rumors whipped fear throughout immigrant community
BY Daily Hampshire Gazette
AMHERST — Garcia’s Mexican Restaurant and Bar closed on Thursday amid a rumor that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had raided and detained five employees the previous evening.
Only the rumor wasn’t true, according to Garcia’s owner Federico Mendiola.
“Those rumors are false, but since we know that there are rumors of them (ICE) being in the area, several local businesses have decided to close down to avoid harassment,” he said. “We have different people from different backgrounds, and they’ve (ICE agents) been harassing U.S. citizens and those with legal status. We just didn’t want to deal with that nonsense.”
Fear of ICE raids, detainments and deportations in the Pioneer Valley has skyrocketed since ICE’s activity in major cities, most notably Boston, has increased exponentially under the Trump administration.
But as of Friday, it appears the fear has spawned plenty of false rumors — including a bogus text threatening a major raid that was to take place Thursday throughout the state that frightened many immigrants — and no actual raids.
Kelly Morgan, an attorney for the Central West Justice Center, confirmed that she hasn’t heard of any raids in the Pioneer Valley since Trump took office.
“A lot of what people are hearing, and especially what’s been circulating this week, have been rumors,” Morgan said. “It’s hard for me as an attorney working with immigrant communities to confirm anything as well.”
All week, Morgan and others at the Central West Justice Center, an affiliate of Community Legal Aid that offers free civil legal services to low-income and immigrant neighbors in central and western Massachusetts, have been getting calls from former and current clients, asking about the authenticity of the rumors and what they should do.
Parents are scared to send their children to school or extracurricular activities, migrants overall fear attending court hearings for cases unrelated to immigration and, as in the case of Garcia’s, businesses are closing or sending workers home early.
Despite the inaccuracy of these rumors, the fear and paranoia around the imminent threat to these communities has tangible impacts on the daily lives of western Massachusetts families and businesses.
“When you are in this situation, you don’t think straight. You hear a rumor, you think maybe it’s true and you think you should go home,” Mendiola said. “These rumors spread fear, and that’s the biggest threat we have as a community right now.”
The Central West Justice Center has fielded calls asking about ICE activity from undocumented migrants most vulnerable to being deported, immigrants with asylum status, green card holders, and those in the midst of the citizenship process.
“The story of, just a few days after the inauguration, U.S. citizens being targeted has made it clear that race and whiteness has been a protection against immigration enforcement, rather than immigration status,” Morgan said.
Bogus text
Morgan’s clients have forwarded her a text message that circulated in the Hispanic and Latino communities from the “Mass Department of Immigrant Protections,” a organization that doesn’t exist. The message claimed that ICE was planning to carry out a major detainment operation on Thursday in partnership with police and state special forces. The text said the operation would include planting bombs on main roads and flying drones with infrared sensors to find people in homes, and ended by advising immigrants to stay home and keep heaters on to confuse the drones.
“That message that went around yesterday was totally panic-inducing,” Morgan said. “I think it went all around the state and people were scared to go out yesterday, regardless of their status.”
Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa confirmed that there have been no verified reports of increased raids, arrests or deportations published in the past week. Many of the precautions vulnerable residents are taking — such as staying home from work, avoiding school and skipping medical appointments — aren’t necessary at this moment, and she encourages people to verify any reports and engage with reputable organizations before posting.
“The big important takeaway is don’t panic,” Sabadosa said. “The panic is leading to bad decisions, so stay calm, know your rights, and don’t make rash decisions.”
Institutions now open to immigration enforcement under Trump’s executive order signed on Jan. 21, including schools, hospitals and places of worship, have crafted plans with specific legal guidelines in case ICE comes knocking, Sabadosa said.
The Northampton and Amherst police departments have both stated they will not cooperate with ICE agents. Both municipalities have declared themselves sanctuary cities.
Yet this has not quelled the concerns of immigrants and non-immigrant community members alike.
“Most of the kitchens in Northampton are run by Hispanics, specifically people from Honduras and El Salvador,” said one restaurant owner in downtown Northampton on Thursday, who asked to remain anonymous due to concern about targeting by ICE. “Main Street is dead, orders are down and I don’t know what’s happening.”
On Friday morning, Mendiola went to several other businesses in downtown Amherst that were the subject of rumors about ICE raids, including La Veracruzana and Bueno Y Sano. None of the employees at any of the restaurants had amy ICE encounters on Thursday, but the businesses had closed for the day. The owners had heard rumors of potential ICE activity and wanted to protect their staff, Mendiola said.
In the future, Mendiola said, the businesses plan to communicate any information about ICE activity and raids with each other first in an effort to act only on facts, not fear.
“We’re all united in the understanding that if something happens, we will share information with each other to ensure we got the right information,” he said. “We have to be prepared as a community to take care of these situations moving forward.”