We witness it daily: ICE officials astonishingly disregard judicial orders against immigrant detention while judges in Massachusetts let them get away with it.
The legal “presumption of regularity,” a basis of American law, assumes that government officials, among others, behave lawfully and with honesty by following established policies and rules. However, in Massachusetts alone, Bearing Witness @ICE in Burlington has uncovered more than 20 cases, spanning 14 judges, in which this presumption was ignored, with 30 court orders willfully violated by ICE officials without facing any consequences.
On Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, Bearing Witness @ICE in Burlington will run a “Hold ICE in Contempt” day, in which organizers and standout attendees will urge Massachusetts judges to hold ICE accountable for violations of court orders. The event takes place at 1000 District Avenue in Burlington, MA, in front of the ICE Field Office beginning at 11 a.m.
Guest speakers Jared Berezin and Todd Palmer will share their exclusive research and findings of several powerful cases where court orders were completely ignored by ICE – and without any consequences. Berezin, co-founder of Bearing Witness, and Todd Palmer, founder of Justice 4 All Thursdays at ICE, will share details of these cases in which ICE blatantly ignored judges’ orders on habeas cases, such as transferring detainees out of state and refusing to provide warrants. At the conclusion of their address, attendees will be provided with postcards to send to
U.S. District of Massachusetts judges urging them to hold ICE in contempt for future violations.
Justices in Massachusetts, and elsewhere, have the authority to hold individuals and agencies in contempt of their court and issue subsequent fines. Earlier this year, a federal judge in Minnesota found a Department of Justice attorney in contempt for withholding a detainee’s identification documents, with a fine of $500 per day until the documents were returned. ICE quickly complied and returned the documents. This would not have happened without ICE being found in contempt and slapped with a punitive ruling.
Berezin and Palmer will share specific recommendations for Massachusetts judges to hold ICE in contempt and have them face repercussions for their violations:
1. When issuing a court order, include the penalty government respondents will face if violated.
2. For habeas cases, issue an order of “stay of transfer or removal” upon assignment.
3. When releasing people from custody, explicitly order ICE to return their documents and personal effects.
4. Follow District of New Jersey Judge Christine O’Hearn’s example and no longer blindly accept statements of fact from the U.S. Government officials unless they are made under oath by a named individual with personal knowledge of the situation.
The weekly Bearing Witness @ ICE Burlington standouts take place every Wednesday, from 11
a.m. to 1 p.m., at the ICE field office at 1000 District Avenue in Burlington, MA. The program begins with professional musicians who perform and use call-and-response engagement with those gathered. Guest speakers then address the crowd of people of all ages who hold signs in support of immigrants. Between noon-12 p.m., the loudspeakers are turned to face the ICE building, and all who are interested are invited to come to the mic and read portions of the U.S. Constitution. At 12:30 p.m., the crowd lines up and marches peacefully to the busy intersection of Mall Road to hold signs and wave to cars and passers-by. The standout concludes at 1p.m. when the crowd marches back and people disperse.
Bearing Witness @ ICE Burlington was started by one couple – co-founders Jared and Laurie Berezin – in April 2025 and has grown weekly to a record 930 at a previous standout. Those who gather stand outside the ICE field office, where immigrants have been detained illegally, to express shame and outrage at egregious, illegal, and cruel ICE behavior. They bear witness to the lack of due process afforded immigrants and the unconstitutional actions of the U.S. government.
Learn more about Bearing Witness @ ICE Burlington and upcoming events at BearingWitnessNE.org.