Frigid ice and snow swept across Martha’s Vineyard this week. While at home and safe from the storm outside, many Islanders watched, through TVs and phone screens, as a different ICE descended on the state of Minnesota. Violent confrontations between federal forces and community members have surged, which some say is a much more frightening cold front than the weather.
While some Island residents traveled to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities in Minnesota and Boston, others have buckled down on initiatives on the Vineyard to educate the public about their constitutional rights and protect noncitizens, who they warn could be vulnerable to another raid.
One initiative on the Island is a newly formed group called Martha’s Vineyard Fourth Amendment (MV 4A). It has created signage for local businesses to put on windows, is conducting constitutional rights training, and has amassed more than 60 volunteers in the past couple of months.
The signs are a neon green color, with bold black lettering, and can be seen in storefront windows at Cronig’s Market, Bunch of Grapes Bookstore, and Tisbury Printer, among others. The signs are available through their website. “All are welcome here,” the posters read. “We know our Fourth Amendment rights.” The Fourth Amendment is a part of the U.S. Bill of Rights that prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures.
Lexi Ladd, co-founder of the local initiative, said the group got the idea from a similar effort in North Carolina. She said their goal is to cut through partisan discourse and focus on constitutionality.
“Grassroots are literally roots, and those roots go deep across the country,” Ladd said. “We are growing from what other people have planted.”
Ladd and other volunteers with the group highlighted that basic constitutional rights are the essential building blocks of America, and should be treated as such. Legal experts say federal officials cannot enter private property, including businesses, without proper documentation.
“This has nothing to do with partisan politics. It has to do with protecting our rights,” Ladd said. “This is one vehicle to do that.”
Putting the signs up at businesses is the group’s way of both educating storegoers and alerting agents that the rights of everyone inside the doors are protected. Proponents of the initiative underscored that ICE arrests disrupt national and local economies.
In Massachusetts, one out of five employees emigrated to the U.S. According to a Boston University study from 2024, immigration is absolutely vital to the U.S. economy. The study found that Massachusetts “runs on foreign-born labor,” with more than 30 percent in STEM fields, and many more contributing to maintenance, construction, and healthcare. And according to studies, noncitizen consumers contribute economically at a high rate, pay taxes, foster cultural diversity, and are immersed in local communities.
Andrea Donnelly, the owner of Cronig’s Market, said a large portion of its customer base is Islanders with noncitizenship status. She was motivated to put the signs up to let locals know that workers inside will ask for warrants from federal agents.
Donnelly said that “protecting the staff and the community” is their priority. “Immigrants are a big part of our community,” she added.
The signs are just one piece of that puzzle. Donnelly said they’re a way to show people that a business cares, and is willing to take protective action, such as requiring warrants for entry.
After ICE agents arrested 40 people on the Vineyard and Nantucket last spring, tensions were high. Schools had no-shows, people didn’t come to work, and some businesses closed their doors for days. Back then, a few locals described half-empty grocery stores, and no lines at the Post Office.
The fear on the Island was also evident in the “2025 Community Health Needs Assessment,” conducted by Martha’s Vineyard Hospital and Island Health Care. The report included responses from more than 1,000 Vineyard residents, who said they have deep concerns about ICE arrests. The respondents who cited those feelings were mainly people of color and those with noncitizenship status who live and work here.
Ladd said it’s exactly because of that undercurrent of fear that they started the initiative. Doing something, she said, is better than the alternative of standing idly by while some community members are safe and others are at risk.
“Putting up signage is a way for our community to come together. It’s a way to send a message to each other that we care about each other. It says what kind of a community we want to be,” Ladd said. “It also says that we know our Fourth Amendment rights, which in some ways can be a deterrent for somebody who wants to violate your Fourth Amendment rights.”
Stina Sayre, a volunteer for MV 4A who owned a clothing store in Vineyard Haven for decades, said the signs are a possible deterrent if ICE agents arrived on Island shores again. Sayre said the way ICE conducted the raid in the spring was unconstitutional, and believes that federal agents arrested people not only because of their immigration status but also because of the color of their skin.
“We saw what they did on the Island, and it’s not following the law,” Sayre said. “Every person has a right to be respected, and respected by the law. It doesn’t matter if you’re documented [or] undocumented.”
The clashes between law enforcement and citizens have escalated quickly in Minnesota over the past few weeks. What started as an operation by ICE has erupted into citizen arrests, general strikes, and protests with over 100,000 attendees. Minneapolis residents have even come up with unique whistles that alert their neighbors of the presence of ICE agents.
After federal agents shot and killed two Minnesota residents — Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti — who were protesting, according to national news, the videos of their deaths have been widely circulated through news reports and on social media.
MV 4A volunteers said they’re doing what they can on the Vineyard to deal with the emotional toll that’s been caused and are standing up for what they believe is right.
“As a grandchild of immigrants who came to this country seeking religious freedom, and as a former First Amendment lawyer, I can’t sit back while constitutional rights are being violated,” MV 4A volunteer Batya Diamond, a local singer-songwriter and Hebrew priestess, said. “We’re building community and expressing solidarity with folks who may not know that we are allies.”
What is the MAGA response?
Too little too late. ICE already swept the Vineyard and I’ve heard no rumor that they’re coming back.
This is a wonderful effort and a beautiful way to show the very best qualities of our beloved community! We care for and value each other. We learn from our friends in MN and all the places experiencing ICE terror that we will proudly protect our Island.
You should be ashamed of yourself. Breaking the federal law is disgraceful. Millions of aliens are not friends they are invaders responsible for the chaos, crime and destruction of our culture. There are legal ways to enter America. The majority of citizens want to deport these criminals. You are inciting violence against our country with you comments.
‘If only Ice and the border patrol would follow the laws.
I think reasonable people would like to see the “worst of the worst” removed from the country., but that is not what is currently happening. History is rife with examples of fascist authoritarian regimes coming to power. First they convince people to be afraid, then they shut down independent media, propagandize every infraction by the “others” and blame all of the problems we are facing on mostly innocent scapegoats. And how exactly does an impoverished person of color from a third world country in turmoil legally enter America if they don’t have the million dollars to buy their way in ?
Don, your claims do not align with the law.
ICE and Border Patrol are already bound by the Fourth Amendment. That isn’t aspirational or dependent on signage — it is settled constitutional law. If agents violate it, the remedies are suppression of evidence, civil liability, and judicial review. Courts exist precisely for this purpose.
What’s missing from your comment — and from the article — is any citation to a court ruling, Inspector General finding, or judicial determination that ICE violated the Constitution on Martha’s Vineyard. None is cited. Words like “raid,” “fascist,” and “authoritarian” substitute rhetoric for evidence.
You also conflate enforcement itself with abuse. Saying reasonable people want the “worst of the worst” removed while implying the entire system is lawless is internally contradictory. Either enforcement is unlawful as a rule, or it is lawful unless proven otherwise. It cannot be both.
As for legal entry, U.S. immigration law already includes asylum and humanitarian pathways. They are limited and imperfect by design — set by Congress, not by ICE agents in the field.
If constitutional violations occurred here, show the findings. If they didn’t, labeling lawful enforcement as “fascism” isn’t vigilance — it’s assertion without proof.
Hi Don, these are your words within the quotation marks.
“History is rife with examples of fascist authoritarian regimes coming to power. First they convince people to be afraid, then they shut down independent media, propagandize every infraction by the ‘others’ and blame all of the problems we are facing on mostly innocent scapegoats.” I commend you for alluding to the Draconian measures during the Covid scam, especially during the regime that mandated fraudulently tested and utterly “unsafe and uneffective” mRNA injections. Good for you for being forthright.
I think everyone reading these comments would do well to reflect on the phrase “our culture”. What it means to them. What it means to the person who wrote it. Who gets to decide what “our culture” is. The implications of using such a phrase at such a time. Food for thought.
They’re welcome if you will pay for their housing, health, food, clothes, education, safety, postal service, ambulance services, police and fire services, Highways and Bridges maintenance, national park land, coast guard, navy, army, air force, NASA, etc. I’m not going to.
I will pay my required taxes, as usual. You will pay the same taxes as I am now, but i addition, you will agree to personally pay for all the above services for these non-citizens on your own dime. Not mine.
These folks are the hardest working people I’ve ever met. They provide essential services. AND pay taxes, even though they’re not eligible for Medicare or Social Security or many other services THEIR tax money pays for. What do you do, exactly? Besides spew hate and intolerance from the comfort of your keyboard.
Isabella, i suspect you are genuinely not paying sufficient attention to where your tax dollars are actually going. Your federal, state, local and even sales taxes are paying for every single item on the list that you write as declining to wish to contribute. Fire department? Really?
Isabella, if you had access to real news and were able to think critically, you would learn that immigrants contribute much more in taxes than they use in services.
Alfred if you had access you real news, data and were able to think critically you would see your statement is categorically false. They actually use MORE services than they pay in taxes and put an economic strain on our state. The numbers are all laid out for you in the article provided.
https://cis.org/Report/Massachusetts-Case-Study-Mass-Immigration-and-Welfare-State
An entire study was conducted on this. I suggest you read it. You can argue opinion but you can’t are numbers and facts.
This source is an exceptionally biased one. Their studies can not in any way be considered statistically valid, i.e., correct.
Alfred this is incorrect. Please stop spreading misinformation. Facts over feelings sir.
https://www.massfiscal.org/new-study-fiscal-time-bomb-beginning-2026-massachusetts-migrants
I will boycott any store with these signs. To me these signs are saying we stand with child rapists, sex traffickers, murderers and drug dealers. That is who ICE is arresting and yes in that process if an illegal alien happens to get caught up in the raid then of course they will also get arrested. They have committed a crime by entering the country illegally. Why don’t these protesters start lobbying Congress for new laws repealing our immigration laws and letting anyone in the world come here unvetted? Yes, we are a nation of immigrants, LEGAL IMMIGRANTS!
John EVERYTHING IS SPOT ON
If ICE were only arresting rapists and traffickers, they wouldn’t be holding a five-year-old child in detention right now. Illegal entry is a civil offense, not a violent crime, and sweeping families into custody doesn’t make anyone safer. Opposing that isn’t open borders, it’s opposing cruelty dressed up as enforcement.
You a minority on Island.
The stores with anti ICE signs will will increase their sales.
Read the room/Island
Wonderful pragmatic action-oriented response. Thank you!
Here are just TWO examples of the previous ICE arrests on the island. You guys really object to this?
Pereira DeOliveira and Juan Humberto Vasquez-Villalta.
DeOliveira has been charged with statutory rape of a child in Edgartown and with possession and dissemination of child pornography. He was indicted by a grand jury in December after pleading not guilty, and the charges are still pending.
Vasquez-Villalta, is a verified MS-13 gang member who has been convicted of assault. The Independent could not confirm Vasquez-Villalta’s involvement in MS-13 or find evidence of his having been convicted rather than charged with a crime.
James GREAT !!!!!— I am all in favor of deporting violent criminals—In case you missed it I’ll repeat it —- I am all in favor of deporting violent criminals— do I need to say it again ? Now about those other 18 people who were unlawfully stopped by ICE agents on their way to work, arrested for the crime of being brown or having an accent, were not charged with any crime and were “disappeared”. Many of those people had some form of legal right to be here– And regardless of what the homeland security director thinks, Habeas Corpus is not the constitutional right of the president to deport anyone he wants, and it applies to ALL persons in the United States.
Ms. Stewart,
Fine, I’ll pay for your share of the costs of feeding and clothing immigrants (most of whom pay their own way) if you’ll agree to pay my share of the bloated “war” budget, the ridiculous Homeland Security budget, and also pay the taxes that the likes of Elon Musk and his fellow suck-up billionaires aren’t paying!
CONGRESS can fix the immigration issue. Not ICE, Not Trump. Please turn your attention and effort to the Constitutional ‘tool’ which can fix this. Meanwhile, will the proponents of open borders on this Island and in this Commonwealth volunteer to pay for damages caused by the many criminals Biden let in? Not everyone you are protecting is a hardworking landscaper. An award for Wrongful death can be an expensive undertaking.
Unbelievable!
No one is in favor of open borders, contrary to the ridiculous assertions by some.
Not to mention that the Congress, during the Biden administration, actually came up with a bipartisan bill to create a sane immigration policy. And what happened? Trump turned up the heat on the craven Republicans who were supporting the bill and convinced enough of them to “change their minds” and vote against the bill, just to enable Trump to continue making it the centerpiece of his election campaign.
I read this article carefully, and what stood out was how much it assumes rather than demonstrates. ICE, like all federal law enforcement, is already bound by the Fourth Amendment. That is neither new nor optional. Federal agents cannot enter non-public areas of a workplace without consent, a judicial warrant, or exigent circumstances. That standard has been settled law for decades.
Yet the article cites no court rulings, Inspector General findings, or judicial determinations showing those rules were violated on Martha’s Vineyard. The repeated use of the word “raid” implies illegality, but I’m not aware of any court decision that found last spring’s enforcement action unconstitutional. ICE stated at the time that the operation targeted individuals with outstanding removal orders or active proceedings. Roughly 40 people were detained. That may be unsettling, but discomfort is not the same as unlawful conduct.
Claims of widespread constitutional violations are serious. When systemic misconduct occurs, it leaves a record. None is cited here.
I’m not opposed to people knowing their rights. I am skeptical of framing lawful enforcement as presumptively abusive. The Constitution is defended by courts and facts, not signage or slogans.
Mr. Harvey I generally find your comments to be learned as well as interesting. And many of us think that we are “led” by a president and his sycophants who scoff ar the Constitution and laws and go out of their way to find judges who will agree with them, including the Supreme Court, particularly concerning people of color. But the latest edit of the financial bill in Congress this afternoon has had reinserted a phrase making it okay for ICE to arrest and DEPORT American citizens, inserted by the White House at the direction of Stephen Miller.
God bless the people of Minneapolis!
Sara, thank you — I appreciate that.
Where we differ, I think, is less on values than on process. Claims about constitutional collapse or unprecedented authority deserve especially careful sourcing, because they are serious and frightening allegations. If language has been proposed that truly authorizes the arrest or deportation of U.S. citizens, that would be extraordinary — and it will be tested, challenged, and either upheld or rejected by courts, not slogans or signage.
I share concern for communities under stress, and I sincerely wish peace and safety for the people of Minneapolis. But preserving constitutional rights depends on evidence, law, and judicial review, not fear — however understandable that fear may be.
Sara, is it possible that there are more reasons for deporting people than “illegal immigration?”
Let’s consider that there is widespread propaganda in conservative media about blue states being “communist.” And strong encouragement for people to move to red states like Florida and Texas.
Deportations and frightening people to leave blue states reduces residents (not necessarily voters).
Actions by ice will sway populations to move and therefore representation in Congress. Texas and Florida have some of the highest concentrations of immigrants and in the next census will likely pick up 4 seats each in Congress.
This would put republicans in control of our nation for decades.
ICE, like all federal law enforcement, is already bound by the Fourth Amendment.
Knee slapper.
Murray–In my opinion , the reason these businesses put these signs up is not a direct result of last spring’s visit from ICE. It is more about the abusive tactics used by seemingly poorly trained federal agents. We have all sen videos of agents pushing people to the ground, breaking windows and dragging people out of cars , entering private houses without permission or warrants , brutal and violent use of chemical agents and the clearly unnecessary use of lethal force against 2 U.S citizens. But since you are focused on the ICE actions on the Vineyard, stopping a vehicle because it contains a person of color is clearly a 4th amendment violation. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB10524 it is unfathomable to me that you think every traffic stop of Bazillion workers on the island last spring was legal. The fact that there were no lawsuits filed alludes to the fear and intimidation of the migrant community here. Many cases in Ma. and around the country have been filed however, and agents who broke the law should be held accountable. Good luck with that from this administration. They tell us not to believe our own eyes and believe their lies. Some sheep do.
Don — you’ve shifted from discussing what occurred on Martha’s Vineyard to citing national videos and allegations, then projecting them onto the Island without evidence.
No one disputes that unconstitutional conduct by law enforcement should be investigated and punished. That is already how the system works. But asserting it happened here requires findings, complaints, affidavits, or court rulings — not “we’ve all seen videos.” None have been cited for the Vineyard operation.
You allege traffic stops based on race. That is a grave Fourth Amendment accusation. If true, it would predictably produce suppression motions, civil filings, or Inspector General investigations. None have been identified.
The CRS memo you link explains the legal standards governing vehicle stops — standards ICE is already bound by. Quoting the rulebook does not establish a violation.
The absence of lawsuits does not automatically prove intimidation; it suggests instead that attorneys reviewing the facts did not find viable claims. Fear is real, but fear is not legal proof. Extraordinary allegations demand extraordinary evidence, when reputations and constitutional claims are at stake.
Storefront signs do not enforce constitutional rights. Courts do. If violations occurred here, show the findings. Accountability requires proof; without it, your claims collapse.
Mr. Auerbach,
If, as you say, “no one is in favor of open borders,” why did an estimated 10 to 20 million migrants pour across the functionally open border during the Biden (Obama’s third term) years? You also made a reference to what was termed “Comprehensive Immigration Reform.” In this scheme, should have it became law, would have allowed up to 2500 migrants per day into the United States. Do the math on that.
The “discomfort” felt by island immigrants is probably better described as a legitimate fear and worry.
However, it is untrue that islanders care for and value each other. More accurately, islanders decide who is deemed worthy of their caring. As the Jewish community supporting Israel has learned, we are not the recipients of this island’s version of care. Jewish discomfort, our legitimate fear and worry, has been routinely ignored, dismissed, and often belittled—even by some commenting here worrying over impoverished people of color from third world countries who can’t just come to America.
When someone hyperbolically claims that island immigrants are “the hardest working people I’ve ever met”, these hardworking people are indeed providing essential services that islanders largely don’t wish to perform. Using one’s privilege, white guilt, and a false claim that no one works harder, makes the excuses here seem almost like some of the rationale that was used for legalized slavery.
P.S. The self-label, “Hebrew priestess” , as used here, (a kohenet), is not recognized as a legitimate part of Judaism. The term is often associated with paganism and heresy.
“So, I think we got to have tough conditions. Tell people to come out of the shadows.
If they committed a crime deport them immediately, no questions asked, they’re gone!
If they are working and are law abiding, we should say ‘these are the conditions for you to stay.
You have to pay a stiff fine because you are here illegally. You have to pay back taxes and you have
try to learn speak English AND YOU HAVE TO GET IN LINE!'”
Hillary Rodham Clinton 2008.
Wait so Cronigs is requiring proper documentation in order to enter their building but we can’t require proper documentation to enter our country? Makes absolutely no sense.
Stores have the right to Identify who they let in.
Let’s be honest. Stores post these signs for the same reason people like Billie Eyelash give silly, fact-challenged, anti-ICE speeches at the Grammy’s. Preaching to the choir not only has no downside, but this virtue signaling to such a receptive audience is good for business, eliciting cries of “wonderful effort” and “ best qualities of our beloved community”. These signs contribute to the delusion that the island is an inclusive community that values everyone.
I can think of a pierogi vendor and her hundreds of island supporters who have proven “All are NOT welcome here”.
Kudos to James Tasmak, Murray Harvey, John Axel, Ellis McMahon and Isabella Stewart for your well reasoned and articulate comments to explain the cause and effect of allowing aliens into our country.
Mary–You are correct. Much of the deportation effort is to undo what the previous administration was planning to do which was, to pad the voter registrations in blue states with non-citizen voters. Case in point; the 2020 census and the efforts by the left to pass voter eligibility for residence in addition to citizens.
Murray Harvey, who are you? Are you sure you are not Katie Lane? The best writing since her. Please come out of the shadows.
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