Photo: Mike Macklin/WBZ NewsRadio
BURLINGTON, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Protesters gathered outside of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Burlington before sunrise to show support for those who were detained and treated "unlawfully."
“Their mistreatment and violation of constitutional rights of these individuals are absolutely abhorrent and un-American and we stand oppose to it,” Bryan Winter with Mass 50501 told WBZ NewsRadio.
Mass 50501 is a local volunteer activist group who organized the peaceful demonstration outside the District Avenue building Saturday. The group planned to stand out until sundown, echoing their opposition of the leadership under the Trump administration and ICE director Tom Homan.
“We’re expecting things to get heavier,” Winter said. “Simply [because we’re] a state that Tom Homan and other individuals have stated they would target.”
The Trump administration has put targets on major cities across the country, like Chicago and Portland, by sending National Troop guards to patrol the streets. However, a federal judge in Chicago ruled Thursday to temporarily bar President Donald Trump’s National Guard deployment in Illinois, citing there are no evidence of a rebellion. The ruling put hundreds of service members in limbo, who were already in Chicago, and the trump Administration appealed the ruling on Friday.
Army Sergeant John Moses condemned the mobilization of soldiers to police cities.
“I think it’s incredibly cruel positions to put soldiers in,” he said. “They’re putting them in positions in opposition to the people they’re supposed to be protecting.”
In Massachusetts, there have been protests outside of the Burlington building almost every week for the last 24 weeks, according to the Boston Globe. Saturday’s protest is joined by many other local organizations.
“Ultimately, I think the wheels are falling off the bus of this administration, and I think it’s going to end badly for them and for America,” Winter said.
WBZ NewsRadio’s Mike Macklin (@mikemacklinwbz) reports.