Woman looks into Berkshire Art Center in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where Berkshire Immigrant Center is located.
As President Donald Trump enters the Oval Office for a second term, the future of U.S. immigration policies enters a new period of uncertainty. After four years of forceful border control measures, travel bans, and tense battles over DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), immigrant communities across the country are bracing for what comes next.
With promises to continue his hardline stance, Trump’s presidency has executed even more restrictive policies, leaving millions of immigrants, both documented and undocumented, wondering how their lives will be shaped by the unpredictable course of his immigration agenda. Others continue to support President Trump’s position on immigration, citing reasons such as the belief that immigrants are taking jobs from U.S. citizens and the perception that undocumented immigrants are criminals.
Berkshire County, Massachusetts, has just experienced significant impacts due to increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity. On March 19, 2025, federal agents detained at least 10 immigrants in towns, including Pittsfield and Lenox. The operation involved agents from ICE, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). Community organizer Fernando Leon noted that this operation has instilled fear, especially as most detained individuals possessed valid work permits or were targeted for not sharing information about their colleagues.
“They are going after brown and black immigrants,” said Leon, adding that he views these arrests were made on the basis of “racism and abuse of power.”
The Berkshire County District Attorney’s Office has stated it will not engage with ICE, and the Berkshire Immigrant Center (BIC), recognized by the Department of Justice, continues to provide resources and support to affected individuals.
“Last year we served over 900 clients or individuals. Each year for the last few years we’ve been helping more and more people,” stated Melissa Canavan, BIC’s Executive Director, “I think most people are not sure what’s going on, if it’s going to affect them, and how it’s going to affect them. Over the last month, it’s been one thing after another with executive orders and orders being challenged in the courts as we help navigate the uncertainties and help people understand what these things mean.”
She emphasized it is BIC’s mission to assist with providing legal services, and local services, and connecting people to organizations and education, such as workshops regarding citizenship preparation.
“As the law changes, people can file applications on their own, but when the systems are shifting as quickly as they are, it’s helpful to come here,” Canavan said. “Even if we are not able to take on a case, we can at the very least connect them to an immigration attorney, and there is only one in Berkshire County.”
The student body of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts has seen quite a few emails sent out on behalf of its students and values about the recent updates and executive orders signed by Trump. Many of these emails include information on how the school plans to deal with a potential ICE appearance and reminders of resources the school offers to support its students who might be affected.
In a recent interview with The Beacon, MCLA’s President, James Birge, was asked further questions about how the school plans to go about protecting its immigrant students in a time of fear and confusion.
“I’m sorry this is the way the world is right now, and I can’t imagine their anguish,” said Birge, “We are a nation of immigrants. I understand there are places where immigration is a difficult thing, but to shut that down for the people who are bypassing the process to escape something horrible is inhumane. We need to help the people that can’t wait.”
Birge reiterated that if ICE were to come to MCLA, the school plans to stand behind its students, accessing the right that classrooms are private spaces where law enforcement cannot enter, and if there is a threat toward any student, the school has places on campus for that student to go where they would be safe.
“Our policies are designed not to provide information about students through a law called Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and we take that work very seriously,” Birge said, “We wouldn’t aid them in any way, and we certainly wouldn’t unlock doors for them…being undocumented in our eyes is not a crime.”
Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy has led to family separations at the border as he has consistently sought to reduce the number of refugees and asylum seekers entering the United States. Children and grandchildren of immigrants are currently anxious about potential separation or being sent back to the dangers they escaped. The official Whitehouse Instagram page even posted a “Deportation ASMR” in which the camera captures chains cuffed around the ankles of immigrants.
“My children’s father, my ex-husband, is an undocumented immigrant,” said Massachusetts resident and U.S. citizen, Tricia Bi, a name she prefers to use in this article to protect her family’s privacy, “I have seen my children affected out of fear that their father will be deported even though he is of legal status with his residency. It makes me feel frustrated and disappointed in the way the country voted.”
When Bi and her ex-husband were looking into getting a green card for him, one of the requirements included a photo album which should contain pictures of their wedding, another requirement was to bring her kids. When they went in for the interview, the Immigration Officer, in Bi’s words, was “rude and condescending”.
“The people that work in these immigration offices are not there to help you,” Bi explained, “They’re not friendly people. They are there to collect your paperwork and to say yes or no. I also don’t think people understand that even if you are a U.S. citizen it is not easy to get welfare benefits.”
When Bi showed the officer the photo album, the officer tried to claim it was fake and claimed that Bi and her ex-husband only had kids so that he could get his papers. Bi says when she told the officer that she was a U.S. citizen, the officer’s attitude toward Bi and her ex-husband changed.
“All of a sudden she became very friendly,” said Bi, “Sometimes my ex would get frustrated and overwhelmed with all the paperwork because it was in English and to hire an immigration lawyer was a lot of money, so we tried to do it on our own. But when you do it on your own you have to be very specific and make sure you don’t make any mistakes.”
Bi then criticized Trump and his policies: “He is running the country on fear and racism, hurting families and separating families, and his decisions are hurting my family. It is not the way a president should act.”
While Bi worries for her family, others worry for their safety and the thought of leaving their children behind. A 47-year-old Massachusetts resident, currently undocumented, who will go by A.J. for his protection, originally fled Colombia for a better life in the United States. Unable to go to college due to expenses, when he made it to the U.S., he had little money.
“I just needed to leave Colombia. The government treated us badly and there was so much guerilla warfare. So much danger,” he said. During the first half of A.J.’s life, he watched as an increase in violence and drug trafficking arose in Colombia. Both government and paramilitary forces clashed.
“I came here with no intention of being an illegal immigrant,” said A.J., “There are not many chances to become legal. It is very hard to become a citizen. I came here on a visa that lasted a year, but it expired, and I had been illegal for 22 years after, until just a few years ago, I became a resident. I tried once before, to become legal, when I had my kids, but I had to restart.”
A.J. continues to express that leaving was an incredibly heavy decision, one that many are compelled to make for the sake of their children, themselves, and their families. For some, it’s a choice between the certainty of danger and the uncertain hope of survival.
“It was hard leaving my country and coming here illegally,” he added, “I had to say bye to everything I knew. My parents were still in Colombia, and I didn’t get to see them for ten years.”
His path to legal status proved incredibly difficult as it does for most immigrants. He is an example of one of the millions who seek opportunity and asylum in the U.S. while Trump actively works to erase these asylum protections and preach to the country that immigrants are “illegal aliens” and “poisoning the blood of our country.”
Trump has initiated a plan to detain as many as 30,000 undocumented migrants at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. As the plan has taken action, it has caused an uprising among humanitarian groups out of fear of potential abuse toward these migrants.
“I think the reality of the executive orders that are coming out of Washington DC is that the intent is to cause chaos,” said Birge, “If we decide to let these things affect our lives right now, then Trump wins. Nothing is a law yet, there are protections in Massachusetts that will be sustained. We have to be aware of these things but not to let them consume our lives and for me, I’m not willing to give him that.”
Birge believes that MCLA benefits from and is proud of its robustly diverse faculty and staff and he wishes for students of color to see themselves reflected in all aspects of the school and understand that there are multiple pathways to a successful life. He believes, regardless of a student or staff’s immigration status, it does not matter how a student got here.
“As long as you have the desire to learn we must teach,” Birge said, “Sometimes you have to put some things on the line, sometimes the laws aren’t right, and the greater good is always right. Laws are the lowest denominator of how things should be, but we should live above that.”
For help navigating the U.S. immigration system, you or someone else can contact the Berkshire Immigrant Center at (413) 445-4881.
