On Jan. 30, 2026, the people of Amherst and surrounding areas gathered on the Amherst Town Common for the “ICE Out” Protest. This protest was sparked by recent killings carried out by ICE in the United States, with eight civilians dead in 2026 alone, not including the deaths while in custody.
“I want to show solidarity against the increased ICE presence in Minneapolis, Minnesota,” said a Smith first-year student. “The rising authoritarianism and fascism aren’t something we support.”
The event was organized by the Amherst College Democrats Club, and flyers displaying the date and time of the protest were shared throughout social media. Speakers ranged from an Amherst Regional High School student to Attorney John Bonzifaz, who co-founded Free Speech For People. Writer Jeff Conant, an Amherst College Democrat member and a representative from the Immigrant Justice Network of Massachusetts, also spoke.
“We need ICE out of our state. This is what our town council resolution promises to do, and it starts here. We just started the process of getting this resolution going, and we already have those same resolutions going in Montague and Greensfield. Imagine if we get similar resolutions in Springfield, in Holyoke, in Northampton— every single town.”
In addition to the protest, there was also a National Shutdown, where thousands of people across America boycotted their schools, spending and jobs. The protest at Amherst demonstrated this solidarity, as people ranging from high school students to the retired attended.
“It’s weird to fight against a government that isn’t even mine,” said an international student. “Seeing all this and this community building has really encouraged me to speak out about it.”
One of the event organizers, over a megaphone to the gathered crowd, stated, “Choosing inconvenience over silence is the first step to combating authoritarianism. What we are seeing today in America is not a failure of ICE; it is ICE functioning exactly as it was designed.”
Although hundreds of people showed up for the protest, not everybody agreed on the concept of the National Shutdown.
“The concept of the, like, generalized, all business boy boycott is kind of inherently faulty,” said an anonymous Smith College student. “When you boycott every business for one day, it kind of negates any kind of specified impact it could make, because you’re not finding specific places with specific policies or specific investments to target, so companies aren’t going to get the message because they don’t understand why it’s happening.”
“With that being said, it is really powerful for the people to see stuff shut down, because I think it really moves people into this place of direness that is effective,” the student added. “So even if it’s not useful in a long-term sense, it is powerful.”
The event ended with a chant as the crowd dispersed: “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here.”
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