11 Arrested at Burlington ICE Office After Care-Package Protest

Overview

• Burlington police arrested 11 people Tuesday after a faith-led effort by volunteers from Maine and Massachusetts to deliver care packages blocked the ICE field office’s administrative entrance, with organizers saying eight of those arrested were Mainers.
• Federal Protective Services called local police to the scene, and after about 40 minutes of de-escalation most demonstrators moved to a designated free-speech area while 11 who refused were detained in what police called civil disobedience.
• Those arrested were booked and released the same day, and they will receive summonses on trespassing and disturbing-the-peace charges, with Federal Protective Services also issuing no-trespass orders.
• In a Thursday update, Chief Thomas Browne urged future demonstrators to protest peacefully, noted the department has managed a year of near-daily protests with 18 total arrests, and said this particular group was unfamiliar to his officers.
• Browne said the incident pulled nine officers from other duties, and the Burlington office—ICE’s Boston-area processing hub with small holding areas—continues to draw regular protests over reports of crowding and detainee treatment.