More than 200 people gathered outside the East Somerville Library on Saturday, rallying for two hours in 30-degree temperatures in support of the community’s immigrants.
Many local organizations and residents were among those rallying, including Somerville for Palestine. The group spearheaded the event with the hopes of supporting and uplifting immigrant experiences in the face of federal attacks on the population, said Leila Skinner, one of the lead organizers.
“It’s important that not only do they feel safe here in Somerville, but that they are valued and loved members of our community,” Skinner said.
Monitors were on the lookout for the arrival of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, and legal help was on hand for residents in case they showed up. No federal forces appeared, and only one car passed the event with people inside heckling.
Protests have been scant for president Donald Trump’s second term compared with what followed his first inauguration in 2017. Across the river, a Boston Women’s March drew an estimated 1,500 people to Boston Common on Saturday compared with around 175,000 people at an event Jan. 21, 2017, called the Boston Women’s March for America – just one of some 670 marches held internationally.
The rally Saturday in Somerville, held in English and Spanish, featured chants, songs and speeches that sought to educate attendees on immigrant narratives, rights and why Massachusetts must remain a sanctuary state with safe places for immigrants. Many supporters held signs, some reading “Immigrants Are Welcome Here,” “Immigrants Make Somerville Great” and “Todos Somos Immigrantes,” meaning “We Are All Immigrants.”
Among the sign holders and supporters were local elected officials including mayor Katjana Ballantyne and city councilors Jake Wilson and Willie Burnley Jr.
“This is an immigrant city and we are going to do as much as we possibly can to protect the folks who live here,” Burnley said.
East Somerville is the city’s most diverse neighborhood, with immigrants making up more than 35 percent of its population, and about 78 percent of the neighborhood’s commercial district being immigrant-owned, according to the East Somerville Main Streets organization.
This post was updated March 28, 2025, to adjust a photo caption.
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