JALSA in Jewish Journal of Greater Boston on ICE Protests

Full article at this link.

Excerpt from Three Jews arrested in Burlington ICE protest see link with European Jewish refugees

Three Jews were among several demonstrators arrested by Burlington Police on April 28 for attempting to deliver care packages to immigrants detained and agents stationed at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) district office there.

Josh Model of Lexington, Rebecca Tabasky of Groton and her sister, Ella Tabasky of Brunswick, Maine, were part of an interfaith group organized by Quakers from Maine to bring baskets of food, flowers, personal hygiene products and letters to the unmarked building opposite the Burlington Mall.

“We were trying to show care for the detainees,” Model said. “And also, we had a package of food and a letter for the ICE agents, because participating in the system is kind of harmful for them, too.”

At around 9:45 a.m., several of the group of 50 activists knocked on the door of the ICE office at 1000 District Ave. to deliver the care packages. After being denied entrance and having their packages refused by agents, the activists were arrested by Burlington police half an hour later.

Burlington Police said 11 demonstrators were charged with trespassing and disturbing the peace and released. They said those arrested should expect to receive a summons by mail to appear in Woburn District Court at a later date. […]

Model is a frequent participant in the Wednesday “Bearing Witness” demonstrations held at the ICE facility in Burlington, as well. According to Cindy Rowe, head of JALSA (Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action), one of the groups organizing those weekly protests, as many as 700 people a week demonstrate there.

Those protests started in April 2025. More recently, in September 2025, between 50 and 100 people started demonstrating at Hanscom Field on Fridays. Three times a week, ICE flights leave that Bedford airport to send detained immigrants out of state.

Rowe believes the demonstrations help make ICE’s local actions more visible, which may lead to more opposition among the population at large. “We’re trying to raise awareness of what’s going on in people’s backyards,” she said.