ADDISON COUNTY — As the number of recent arrests, detentions and acts of violence by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials climbs across the country, local citizens are joining Americans across the country in growing numbers to push back.

In addition to well-attended protests against ICE this past weekend in Vergennes, Bristol and Middlebury, a group of Addison County residents is taking another approach to help members of the immigrant community feel welcomed and safe.

The group is leading an effort called “Signs of Solidarity,” an initiative that’s popped up in other parts of the country and asks businesses to display signs showing support for the immigrant community in their establishment. It also seeks to create private spaces for employees that ICE officials wouldn’t be able to access without a warrant signed by a judge or a property owner’s permission.

Along with the signs, the effort also offers resources for community members about their rights in the event of an encounter with ICE.

“We’re a small group of concerned citizens, and we’re concerned about the safety of our community,” said Theresa MacCallum, a community member involved in the effort. “We were just discussing, ‘How can we have a community where people can walk around and just feel that they’re safe?’”

“And that they’re welcomed,” added Jack Mayer, another resident taking part in the initiative. “They’re essential people in our community.”

MacCallum said the group’s signs and information have come from the Indivisible.org website, and citizens involved in the nonpartisan Indivisible Middlebury organization have been working together on the effort.

ICE activity has ramped up in the year since President Donald Trump took office.

ICE arrests are happening more frequently across the nation. The number of people detained in ICE facilities reached a record 68,000-plus last month and several encounters with immigration agents in the past year have resulted in officer-involved shootings, including last week when 37-year-old Renee Good was fatally shot by ICE officer Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis on Jan. 7.

Good’s killing prompted the latest round of street protests, which attracted a reported 490 sign-wielding protesters on Sunday, and more than 300 similarly minded citizens in Middlebury on Saturday evening.

In Vermont, more than 100 people were detained by ICE and Border Patrol officials in 2025, according to Migrant Justice, a human rights organization founded and led by immigrant farmworkers. Mayer listed several of the detentions that have taken place over the past year, including multiple instances where individuals were arrested while at their workplace.

“I think we’re going to see more of this,” he said. “Even though probably most Vermonters would say, ‘Oh, well ICE is not here,’ they are here, and they’re becoming more emboldened as they’re recruiting more and more ICE agents.”

Mayer and MacCallum also referenced data showing that over 70% of people detained in ICE custody have no criminal conviction, and of those with convictions, many are for nonviolent and minor offences like traffic violations.

They noted residents are particularly concerned about individuals being denied the right to due process.Several Vermont communities, including in Addison County, have passed resolutions supporting due process and condemning actions that violate that right.

“Whatever peoples’ feelings are about immigration, the basic right of due process is everyone’s right on the soil in the United States,” MacCallum said.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

Mayer said one aim of Signs of Solidarity is ensuring people know what their rights are. Community members involved in the effort have cards available with information about those rights, such as the right to remain silent protected by the Fifth Amendment and the Fourth Amendment protection from unreasonable searches and seizures.

Residents taking part in Signs of Solidarity are asking local businesses if they have a spot in their establishment that can be designated as a private space, one ICE agents wouldn’t be able to legally enter without a judicial warrant or permission from the business.

“We’re hoping this will just give people more of a sense of what is legal and what are the boundaries of ICE’s jurisdiction,” Mayer said.

MacCallum noted Addison County falls within 100 miles of the Canadian border, a zone in which Border Patrol agents conduct operations.

“I think for our local businesses, just to know their rights in the event that a Border Patrol person shows up, for their employees and for their customers, is very, very important to know ahead of the game instead of when or if it happens,” MacCallum said.

In addition to those resources, the effort also offers local businesses signs reading “We Stand With Immigrant Families” and “Vermont Strong For Democracy” to display at their establishment. The group has already begun connecting with businesses in the area, and Mayer said they’ve received interest from several establishments.

“The few businesses that I have already visited, it was very positive,” MacCallum said.

She said the group is currently working in Middlebury but hopes the effort will expand.

Mayer noted the group is eager to distribute signs to residents in other towns and share the resources with them.

“We’re hoping that this will be a public display of support for immigrants, and that it will be contagious,” Mayer said. “I think there’s always some hesitancy about businesses putting up signs that might be interpreted as partisan in some way, but I think courage is contagious, and when one business makes this public statement about the importance and safety of our immigrants then others will follow.”

A key piece of the effort is starting conversations, he said.

“What we’re trying to do is share concerns and really what matters is the conversation that we have about this and how critical this is for our democracy,” he said.

Those interested in joining the Signs of Solidarity effort can email [email protected].