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Mass. officials raise alarm over ICE’s ‘makeshift detention center’ in Burlington

The ICE field office in Burlington is not meant to hold detainees for long periods of time. There are concerns about overcrowding, a lack of medical care, and more.

Protesters have planted signs outside the ICE Boston Field Office at 1000 District Ave. in Burlington. Heather Diehl/The Boston Globe

By Ross Cristantiello

June 27, 2025

1 minute to read

Massachusetts lawmakers are demanding answers from ICE officials about a facility the agency is using in Burlington to detain immigrants. In a new letter that was sent to the Trump administration this week, they lay out concerns that ICE is keeping detainees in “abysmal” conditions.

Food is scarce, overcrowding is common, and the building reportedly does not have enough showers or sinks to accommodate the needs of everyone being detained there, the lawmakers wrote. The lights in the facility are reportedly always on, and people are being forced to sleep on concrete floors with only mylar blankets. The building lacks medical facilities, too, according to reports cited by the lawmakers.

The concerns echo worries that have been percolating in Massachusetts for weeks about how ICE is using its field office in Burlington. The facility is only meant to hold people for a short period of time before they are moved to actual detention centers. But with the Trump administration reportedly setting arrest quotas for ICE agents to meet, field offices not meant to be detention centers are apparently becoming overwhelmed with detainees.

The Burlington field office was thrust into the public view after Marcelo Gomes da Silva, a Milford teen, was arrested on his way to volleyball practice and detained there for six nights. Upon his release, Gomes da Silva and two lawmakers who toured the facility said that conditions there were extremely lacking. ICE officials maintain that detainees are rarely being kept in Burlington for long periods of time and that conditions are adequate.

With the letter, Massachusetts officials are hoping to shine more light on how the office is actually being used. Transparency is decreasing, as ICE recently implemented a new policy limiting how members of Congress can conduct oversight.

The letter was sent to the acting director of ICE, Todd Lyons, and the acting field office director, Patricia Hyde. Both have been prominent faces of increased ICE activity in Massachusetts. The letter was signed by every member of the Massachusetts congressional delegation.

Read it here:

Final Warren Markey Delegation Letter to ICE on Burlington Holding Facility by Ross Cristantiello on Scribd