Public Comment: Practical Policing Suggestions for Curbing ICE Abuses in Amherst
Photo: PICRYL /Public Domain
The following public comment was offered at the meeting of the Amherst Town Council on June 16, 2025.
We are here this evening to petition the town of Amherst to do everything it can possibly do, within legal limits, to stand with our immigrant neighbors and to push back against ICE activity, detentions, and possible deportations of hard-working neighbors with no violent criminal records, traumatizing Amherst neighbors and separating Amherst families.
It is important to have the Amherst Police present to both witness ICE activity in our town and to do what is possible to protect our residents.
We ask that the Amherst Police bear witness to suspected ICE activity in Amherst, respond promptly anytime there is suspicious activity such as unmarked vehicles surveilling our neighborhoods, and do whatever they can legally to protect our residents from unlawful ICE activity and to uphold the mandate of Amherst being a sanctuary city.
To document ICE’s activity in Amherst, and to offer support and assistance to impacted families is critical. We therefore ask that the Amherst Police Department inform the LUCE Immigrant Justice Network hotline whenever they learn of suspected ICE activity in Amherst by calling the LUCE hotline number: 617 370-5023. The LUCE hotline operates from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.
We also request a swift response from the Amherst Police Department when residents call 911 or the Police Department to report having seen the following signs of possible ICE activity or sudden, possibly illegal detention:
• Intrusions into private property by unidentifiable or unknown persons
• Stake-outs
• Vehicles with improper or unidentifiable license plates (which could be verified by the police to see if they are legally and properly registered)
• People visibly carrying weapons
• Threats or attempts to break into a home or vehicle by any unknown or unidentifiable person who has not shown the Amherst resident or visitor a federal warrant by a judge or magistrate
• The taking of a U.S. citizen into custody by a person who is known to be from ICE, since any person claiming to be from ICE is “without lawful authority” to “detain” a U.S. citizen.
We thank you for giving consideration to these requests, and would very much welcome a meeting to further discuss these issues with you.
David Detmold
David Detmold is a resident of Montague and the former editor of the Montague Reporter. He is currently working with a group of Amherst residents concerned about ICE actions in Massachusetts.
I agree with these requests.
Also, although the town has a web page devoted to immigration resources at https://www.amherstma.gov/3830/Immigration-Resources, it should be a banner on the home page as was done during the COVID pandemic, so that people can find it. This is every bit as much of an emergency.
I would like to sign this petition as well. I would also like to request our Town Manager to activate our emergency text/email messaging service to notify us, Town citizens, so we can support our community members. This is a safety issue for all of us and informing us on a Town Website is not quick enough.
I would also like to request our Schools to set a clear policy and procedures in place to protect our student population. This is not only on the school grounds but providing trainings to the bus/van drivers in such instances where students have options to be brought back to school.
I hope we can all work together in keeping this community safe.
Thank you.