Rumors have been circulating for months on the docks of New Bedford. And those rumors have gained greater currency with reported sightings of official Homeland Security vehicles in the area. It was as tall as an wheeler.
And it was brand-spanking new and white with the big Homeland Security seal on it. The fear is very much alive about what can happen in New Bedford. The dock on this overcast day is lined with fishing boats. A young fisherman named Tony, wearing bright overalls and a broad smile, had just come to port.
Tony said some fishermen may be in the country illegally, but undocumented immigrants work mostly in the fish houses. DaSilva-Hughes adds that the work is hard β really hard. She said fish processing relies heavily on undocumented immigrants like a woman from El Salvador, who asked that we call her Lupe. Lupe nervously rubbed her calloused hands together and spoke about an immigration raid 10 years ago, when she was one of the more than mainly Central American workers swept up in a mass apprehension by ICE agents on a local factory.
He was born here, she said, and has no idea about life back in El Salvador. She said she gets why the ICE vans are so scary to immigrants here, but she cautioned against jumping to conclusions.
Seeing ICE vehicles could have to do with customs enforcement, as well some of those vehicles are around in the vicinity anyway. In an emailed response to a query from WGBH News, an ICE official said the agency never uses marked vehicles and would never comment about future operational activity. Regardless of what ICE says, Corinn Williams hopes Trump Administration officials understand the impact targeted arrests on fish processing houses would have on the local economy.
