Opinion: It Will Happen Here Unless State Officials Speak Out

After the brutal murders of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good in Minnesota and the deaths of at least 32 others in ICE custody in 2025, there can be no doubt that the federal government is waging a brutal, malicious and reckless war on U.S. citizens and residents alike. 

Here in Massachusetts, when Rümeysa Öztürk, a PhD student at Tufts University, was kidnapped off a Somerville street for writing an op-ed critical of Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people – that is, for exercising her First Amendment right to free speech – it sent a chilling message. State officials, including Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell and Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey, raised their voices, and she was eventually released. 

When 18-year-old Marcelo Gomes da Silva was kidnapped and detained by ICE in June, the Massachusetts Teachers Association issued a statement condemning ICE’s actions as “cruel and inhumane.” After his court-ordered release, Governor Healey said “It’s not okay that students across the state are fearful of going to school or sports practice, and that parents have to question whether their children will come home at the end of the day.” 

When 19-year-old Ana Lucia Lopez Belloza was detained at Logan Airport in November and deported to the yet more brutal realities of Honduras – a country she left when she was 7 – a federal court order was issued to stay her removal, in vain. This time, few state officials spoke out.

These actions are not mistakes; they are part of a pattern of criminal intimidation and retaliation against Massachusetts residents, openly encouraged and carried out by the federal government. They are acts of tyranny.

In our own community of Amherst, sources suggest that at least five families have had members detained and/or deported – the families have chosen to remain anonymous — and, as far as I’m aware, no public officials have spoken out.

With ICE now deploying in Maine and with the arrival of dozens of new ICE vehicles at the ICE facility in Burlington, MA, there is no reason to think that the Trump Administration’s unconstitutional war on our fundamental freedoms won’t come to our communities, sooner rather than later. 

And yet, most public officials – including those who, after the fact, condemned the kidnappings above – have thus far failed to stand up and take preventive action. 

Contrary to the Trump administration’s lies, under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution there is no such thing as total immunity for federal agents who commit criminal acts – and one of the best, and only, powers we have to hold them accountable is state law. Public officials, therefore, have a mandate to uphold this law, and a clear opportunity to act in our community’s defense. 

In a letter sent to the Massachusetts Attorney General and several state District Attorneys on December 11, 2025, the locally-led organization Free Speech for People urged these officials to open criminal investigations into the activities of federal agents in Massachusetts. “In incidents across the state,” the letter says, “federal agents have repeatedly committed criminal acts that are not immunized by federal law. Federal agents have kidnapped and assaulted residents with no criminal records or reason to believe they are undocumented, as part of an orchestrated retaliation campaign against Massachusetts and Boston for their perceived political affiliation.” 

According to John Bonifaz, Amherst resident and President of Free Speech for People, the letters have not yet received a response. 

The Amherst Town Council can play a positive role by supporting and amplifying this call to urge our District Attorneys and the state Attorney General to loudly and clearly tell us – and the Trump administration – that they will investigate and prosecute criminal actions committed by federal agents. A resolution from the Town Council could have a ripple effect throughout surrounding communities, and cascade throughout the Commonwealth.

Several councilors, including Councilor Jill Brevik, have expressed eagerness to work with their constituents to take action. “I campaigned on a promise to fully embrace the critical role elected officials play in elevating and empowering constituent voices on issues that directly impact the lives of Amherst residents,” says Brevik. “That responsibility requires action. I will not sit idly by when there are tools at our disposal to prevent violence and oppression in our community and beyond.”

The Amherst Town Council has an opportunity to do something that has the potential to make a real difference, both to the most vulnerable among our fellow townspeople and to our state’s ability to stand strong in the face of ICE aggression. A town council resolution would amplify and spread the effort begun by Free Speech for People – to build local power to demand state action, not only to investigate and prosecute after the fact of criminal abuses, but to signal in advance that ICE and DHS cannot act with impunity in our communities.

Such a resolution could, and should, also call upon Governor Healy to immediately cease all cooperation agreements with ICE, including any formal and informal agreements that may be in place. This call, in turn, would support the growing demand to abolish this rogue agency. 

As inspiring as the popular resistance in Minneapolis/St Paul is to many of us, equally inspiring is the way that many public officials, from the Governor and the Attorney General to local electeds, have stood with the people – not virtue signaling behind the front lines, but using their platforms and their power to show leadership in ways that build unity and strengthen popular resolve. We desperately need our Massachusetts officials to show the same courage.

With the federal government waging war on the people, it is time to invite all of our public officials – including our town councilors – to stand up for us. 

Jeff Conant is an Amherst resident, author, and long-time advocate for social and ecological justice.