Last updated on August 6, 2025
Jamaica Plain hasn’t faced the worst of the current crackdowns by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), but activity has persisted, with a notable example being two ICE raids in Forest Hills.
An analysis by the Deportation Data Project, which is based at the University of California, Berkley, found that immigration arrests in Massachusetts have so far risen by 336% from the previous year. This means 2,230 confirmed ICE arrests so far through June 10.
State Rep. Samantha Montaño spoke about the Forest Hills raids in a June 23 Instagram post and additionally reaffirmed their support for local immigrant communities.
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Montaño also made note of reported ICE activity on Heath Street and Jackson Square, as well as in Mission Hill and Roxbury. They also referenced ICE activity in Brookline, Fields Corner, Lynn, East Boston, Worcester, Brighton, and “many more.”
ICE did not return an email seeking comment about the agency’s operations in Jamaica Plain.
Zach (Editor’s note: To protect Zach, we are only using their first name), an organizer at the Jamaica Plain branch of LUCE – a state-wide coalition of immigrant support and justice organizations that runs an ICE watch hotline – said that LUCE has heard of a handful of reported ICE sightings around JP, but noted that many sightings have so far ended up being, “transit police or people in large, dark tinted vehicles.”
They reiterated that such concerns were valid in the current climate. “ICE is particularly choosing tactics that stoke fear. They’re in plain clothes, they’re covering their faces, they’re using unmarked vehicles – and using all of these [tactics] stoke fear so that people can never really know whether it’s just some person with a tinted SUV, or if ICE is staking out their house.”
LUCE’s Work in Jamaica Plain
LUCE is regarded as a useful organization for those in need of direct assistance in the case of suspected ICE activity or harassment, as well as those who wish to help their currently at-risk neighbors. LUCE operates its hotline from 5am-9pm every day, and offers services across a variety of different languages by calling 617-370-5023. LUCE provides on-site help to anyone worried about a possible ICE presence in their area, or if they are accosted by someone they suspect may be immigration agents.
“We do our best to show up as quickly as possible to document what ICE is doing [and] to support our community members,” said Zach, adding that a lot of the work includes showing up, realizing that it’s not actually ICE, and helping to dispel rumors.
The work has also taken the form of creating even deeper links between already established local organizations and activists. Zach added that more than 200 Jamaica Plain residents have been trained to help LUCE operations in the area by staffing the hotline, or to participate in on-the-ground programming. Residents can also donate to help the coalition, and sign their ongoing petition to “protect our immigrant communities” and to, “end Massachusetts’ participation in the prison-to-deportation pipeline.”
LUCE has also grown this year as has the fear of ICE. Zach said LUCE “…went from a really scrappy group of organizers, to certainly hundreds – easily could be well over a thousand – people across the state.”
Jamaica Plain Orgs That Are Helping
Jamaica Plain has traditionally been home to many immigration populations, evidenced by the city-named Avenue of the Americas in Jackson Square, and thus JP is home to numerous immigrant support networks and organizations that provide critical services.
The Dominican Development Center (42 Seaverns Ave.) has long been a steadfast advocate for immigrant justice in the community. Through grassroots organizing, a wealth of educational initiatives, and providing other crucial resources, the center has empowered immigrants, and chiefly immigrant women, to stand up for their rights and build stronger, more resilient communities – especially in such pressing times.
City Life/ Vida Urbana (284 Amory St.) provides extensive legal protections for immigrant communities in the Boston area, focused primarily on fighting for immigrant housing rights. The organization holds weekly resident meetings at their headquarters that are open to all – and especially to immigrant residents who may face any uncertainties around their housing.
Immigrant Connection at the Awaken City office (182 Hyde Park Ave.) which is hosted by Awaken City Church (next door at 184 Hyde Park Ave.) provides a 6-10 week Conversational English and Citizenship Class, as well as access to legal aid.
The ACLU provides a national Know Your Rights resource hub, as well as a number of related toolkits. The MIRA Coalition released a state-specific Know Your Rights toolkit, and provides related training for anyone who is interested. The Immigrant Legal Resource Center also maintains a very useful resource hub, for immigrants and activists alike.
Jamaica Plain’s Federal and Local Leaders’ Responses to ICE
U.S. Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren have fought at the highest levels of government to battle ICE detention and ask for accountability from immigration authorities such as a joint letter to ICE officials about inhumane conditions and a lack of transparency at a Burlington processing facility.
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell has also provided residents with a ‘Know Your Rights’ guide – an extremely valuable tool for anyone who wishes to protect themselves or their neighbors.
In the House of Representatives, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-7th), has worked to bring awareness and fight on behalf of immigrant communities, and continues to sound the alarm against ICE. She is a cosponsor of the Neighbors Not Enemies Act which seeks to repeal Trump’s current use of the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 law that the federal administration believes grants the president the ability to target individuals during wartime. Pressley continues to sign letters and statements from other congressional leaders, and has been a vocal advocate of immigrant rights.
Let’s call this what it is: human trafficking.
Trump wants to kidnap families off our streets, strip them of due process, and ship them to countries they have no correlation to.
This is dangerous, cruel, and will shamefully put vulnerable people in harm’s way.
— Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (@pressley.house.gov) July 16, 2025 at 7:26 PM
On the city level, Mayor Michelle Wu has been a stringent defender of immigrant rights in Boston, and also of the city’s status as a sanctuary city. She has consistently gone toe-to-toe with Trump’s “Border Czar” Tom Homan, and presented the opening statement during a hotly-debated congressional hearing in March about immigration policies and their impact on cities across the country.”
“Today, more than 700,000 people call Boston home. Approximately 28% of our residents were born in a country other than the United States … our immigrant residents and communities are part of the fabric of Boston. They are our family, neighbors, and friends,” said Wu in her statement before the US House Oversight committee, in which she also criticized the current climate of fear. “A city that is scared is not a city that is safe. A land ruled by fear is not the land of the free.”
She also recently issued a Freedom of Information Act request, “related to enforcement actions within our city and information on certain ICE policies.”
Also, on July 28, District 6 City Councilor Ben Weber, with JP LUCE, Egleston Square Main Street, Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA), and other organizations, are hosting a virtual Know Your Rights training session.
But there’s more work that can be done to protect immigrants from ICE, voiced Zach, who feels there can be a greater response and partnership from local and state governments.
“Things are picking up, so I’m hopeful that we can have more productive collaboration between local city and state officials, so that they can stand with the communities they represent and help protect them,” said Zach.
