Community Members, Government Officials Demand Accountability for Burlington ICE Office

In the heart of Burlington's commercial district – in a development literally called The District – sits a building many residents didn't know existed until recently.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Boston Field Office, located at 1000 District Ave., has been in the news as the high profile case of Marcelo Gomes da Silva has gained widespread attention. Gomes da Silva, an 18-year-old high school junior from Milford, was arrested by ICE officials and brought to the facility last week.

According to Burlington Select Board Chair, Mike Espejo, the Boston Field Office, which serves all of New England, was intended to be a short-term processing facility when it opened in 2007 or 2008. Per the agreement with the town, detainees were not supposed to be held there for more than a few hours.

However, details shared by Gomes da Silva in a press conference on Thursday suggest the facility has not adhered to that agreement. He told of 30-40 people to a cell without access to proper bathroom facilities, adequate food, or even a window to the outdoors. He also said he'd been there overnight in one of the facility's eight holding cells for the entirety of his six-day detention. He said he and other detainees slept on a concrete floor with a mylar blanket.

State Representative Ken Gordon, who represents Burlington and neighboring communities, said the following in a press release:

When the facility received permission from Town Meeting to open its doors, members were assured there would be no more than four holding cells for temporary stays.  A “Warrant Article Backup” provided on behalf of ICE assured members that detainees, “do not remain overnight at the Burlington facility.  ICE contracts with county correctional facilities to house the detainees.”

The facility was approved based on these assurances at a special Town Meeting convened specifically to address concerns raised by community members and their representatives. One concern was zoning. "We're not zoned for a jail right next to the mall," said Espejo. But also, he said, the residents who spoke up didn't want to house a detention center in their town.

Espejo and Burlington Police Chief Thomas Browne said ICE assured them this week that detainees were not being held overnight. "We were lied to by the current duty officer," said Espejo. He added, "Regardless of how you feel about what they're doing we at the very least have to give people fair treatment, due process, and a humane situation."

Rabbi Susan Abramson of Temple Shalom Emeth agrees. A longtime advocate for immigrant rights, she has been co-leading peaceful protests outside the Burlington ICE office every Wednesday from 11:00-1:00. Attendance has grown steadily, with about 70 participants last week.

Abramson said the goal of the peaceful protests is "to stand up to get more people to raise their consciousness about the terrible things that are happening in our country." She said people driving by the protests often stop and share their stories. "Law-abiding people, many of them who are here legally, are just suddenly without any due process being arrested and thrown into these cells, sent around the country, and they aren't given any legal rights at all," she said.

The weekly protests will continue, Abramson said, in an effort to increase community awareness and involvement. "The more people come, the light shines brighter on this very dark situation."

While community concern is growing, the path to holding the facility accountable is unclear. "It's been very frustrating as the chairman of the Select Board," said Espejo, but the Board is looking into how to leverage the Board of Health, the Building Inspector, or even the town's legal counsel to enforce the town's expectations of the conditions in the facility.

Congressman Seth Moulton, who has federal oversight authority, toured the facility on Thursday, along with Congressman Jake Auchincloss and Representative Gordon. Moulton will be in hearings in Washington this week, Espejo learned through Gordon, to see what his office can do. Said Gordon, "I will work with Congress and use this knowledge to stand up for due process, and the right to dignity under the law."

"I understand people have concerns," said Chief Browne, and he's committed to working with the community to address them; he also emphasized the need to maintain a constructive relationship between the department and the ICE office.

As of publication, ICE had not responded to Burlington Buzz's request for comment.