Abbott navigated from the passenger side of the Toyota Prius for her husband, David Klafter, 79, with three newly acquainted passengers squeezed into the back. Conversation in the car was periodically interrupted by a weather alert.
“Winter storm ahead,” said Google Maps. “Please proceed with caution.”
Unfazed by the warning, the group was among around 10 Brookliners who carpooled to Merrimack Saturday to protest plans for an immigrant detention center in a 324,000-square-foot warehouse.
According to documents released by New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte, the site would cost $158 million to renovate and could house up to 600 detained people at a time, which would make it the first large-scale detention facility in New England.
Confusion over the Republican governor’s knowledge of the acquisition and local outrage over the initiative drew more than 1,000 protesters to Merrimack Town Hall. As Abbott and Klafter pulled up, they were greeted with “ICE OUT” signs, an 8-foot cutout of the Statue of Liberty, cowbells and chants of “Ayotte is a liar.”
“It’s not just about New Hampshire. It’s about all of New England,” said Deborah Good, a Brookline resident and retired social worker. She said she came because she believed everyone, not just those in Merrimack, would be affected by the warehouse.
“People who are our neighbors, our co-workers, our employees, our friends are under threat and will be dragged to this place,” Good said. “The only thing that ordinary people can do is make it known that we oppose.”
Boston University biology professor Edward Loechler, who lives in Brookline, drove almost four hours from a music camp to be there. He voiced his concern for the lack of due process for immigrants in ICE detention.
“People are being denied their rights,” he said.
As of February 2026, nearly 70,000 people were held in detention centers nationwide, with reports of overcrowding and infrastructure unsuitable for human habitation raising health concerns. While the Trump administration has claimed this widespread crackdown on illegal immigration is targeting “violent criminals,” CBS News reported that only about half of those arrested in the past year had criminal records – and fewer than 14% had been convicted of a violent crime.
“This has nothing to do with criminality,” Klafter said. “It has everything to do with promoting a white nationalist agenda.”
Around him, numerous signs alluded to the concentration camps of Nazi Germany, reading “We are not Nazis” and “No Gestapo in America.”
Passing vehicles were as much a part of the demonstration as those holding signs. Cars honked as they drove by – some angry honks, others in support. One man stepped out of his truck, yelling at the crowd “Go home!” until he was escorted by a volunteer peacekeeper.
An organized convoy of cars painted in anti-ICE slogans paraded midway through the standout and unaffiliated snow plows were met with applause by protesters who saw them as a symbolic representation of their calls to “remove ICE.”
Amid the chaos, Abbott was stationed in a foldable chair because of her injury, sharing a cardboard sign with Klafter. She said it was important for her to be there.
Originally from South Africa, where she protested against apartheid rule in her youth, she has participated in social movements across decades.
“I grew up where everything was censored. There was government control of every newspaper. News, media, books were banned,” she said. “I see inklings of that now, which is pretty scary.”
One of four women who run the group Activist Evenings in Brookline, she said it is crucial for citizens to stand up to authority.
Klafter agreed. “I think ICE has to be resisted,” he said. “The resistance in Minneapolis really forced them to back down and withdraw. But even more than that, it really showed the whole country that you can stand up to these people.”
Once they’d had enough of the cold, Abbott and Klafter regrouped to head back. But first they had one more stop to make. Curious to see the contested warehouse, they found the road there marked “private property” and blocked by a security vehicle. The guard inside said he was unsure why he was stationed there and refused to provide further information.
Back on the road, Abbott said she was already planning for the No Kings protest March 28.
“People in Brookline should be organizing,” she said.
This story is part of a partnership between Brookline.News and the Boston University Department of Journalism.