More than 100 people gathered at Boston Common on Memorial Day, expressing their discontent with the Trump administration and the recent actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) across Massachusetts.
The crowd, carrying signs that celebrated the contributions of immigrants to the United States, marched from Boston City Hall to Boston Common, where they listened to speeches delivered by local officials, veterans, and event organizers.
This rally was organized by Massachusetts 50501, an organization formed specifically to protest President Donald Trump’s second term.
Organizer Kylie A. Bemis stated, “We just want all of our elected officials to know that we will stand behind them if they do stand up to the Trump administration and against ICE.”
As part of the rally, attendees were provided with a “call script” urging them to contact state and local leaders, demanding the termination of all cooperation with ICE.
Rebecca V. Winter, another event organizer, expressed her hope that the rally would “invigorate people to get active” in their local political landscapes.
The script outlined demands for Massachusetts Governor Maura T. Healey ’92 to issue an executive order ending statewide cooperation with ICE and called on the state attorney general to file an emergency lawsuit against the agency.
“We expect a response — in actions, not just words,” the script asserted.
This protest comes amid increasing ICE activities and deportations in Massachusetts. Earlier this month, ICE detained several teenagers in Chelsea, and a notable arrest in Worcester sparked protests among onlookers.
Concerns about ICE’s presence have also surfaced in Cambridge, where local police confirmed an ICE arrest took place, and Customs and Border Protection officials mistakenly detained an American citizen outside the Cambridge District courthouse in Medford.
Bemis remarked, “We’ve seen this essential invasion of ICE agents coming in and terrorizing our communities.”
The organizers included Leo Gerdén ’25, who criticized ICE’s detainment of Tufts graduate student Rumeysa Öztürk and Columbia alumnus Mahmoud Khalil.
Gerdén accused the administration of employing ICE as a tool of oppression, stating, “By setting an example out of a few students, they successfully silence thousands more. Let’s call it out for what it is: it is pure fascism. He is using ICE as his private army.”
He also highlighted the administration’s recent measures against Harvard’s international students, eliciting boos from the crowd as he detailed the Department of Homeland Security’s revocation of Harvard’s capacity to enroll international students.
“Trump is using us as poker chips in a battle between the White House and Harvard, in his attempt to install himself as provost of our university,” Gerdén said. “It is deeply, deeply dehumanizing.”
Cambridge City Councilor Burhan Azeem, who introduced speakers during the rally, emphasized the significant solidarity behind the rally’s message.
He stated, “I think the biggest point is to try to show that we’re united. We have all these differences on small issues, but at the biggest levels, in terms of national politics, we’re all on the same page.”
Azeem highlighted the need for Massachusetts residents to remain united against the policies of the Trump administration.
“To make it through — not just in first four months, but the next four years — is going to take an incredible amount of solidarity and work and realize that all of us are in this together,” he concluded.
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