Around 50 people gathered in front of The First Church of Belmont, Unitarian Universalist, on July 17 to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) overreach.
These Stand-Outs, as they are called, are sponsored by the Social Action Committee of The First Church of Belmont and attract both church members and others from the community. The Stand-Outs began in February 2026 following the deaths of Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota. They are held every Friday from 5 to 6 p.m.
The Friday evening crowd received honks and waves from cars passing under the Belmont Center tunnel. A school bus of kids cheered on the peaceful protest as it rolled into the church parking lot. One kid passed by on a bike, shouting “I hate ICE!”
Stand-Out organizers noted that there were more people out on the curb than usual, which they credited to the deaths of Joan Sebastian Durán Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine, and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, Texas. Both men were killed by ICE agents this month.
Guerrero and Araujo are among four people who have been fatally shot by ICE in 2026, CNN reported.
“We need a new dictionary for shock and awe,” said Deborah Lockett of Belmont. “I thought we were the home of the free and the brave.”
Naomi Ellenburg-Dukas noted the lack of young people in the crowd. “You have to wake up. You have to be involved,” was her message to the younger generation.
District Attorney Marian Ryan told The Voice that “this is not who we are as people. Part of my job is the protection of the rule of law. And we’re allowing these tragedies and lack of investigation to become precedent. That can’t be accepted. It just can’t.”
While ICE coverage has quieted in recent months, residents of Belmont and nearby towns have continued to send a message.
“It’s a testament to the heart of this town and the passion that people have for pushing back against the lawless, corrupt regime in Washington,” said state Rep. Dave Rogers, who attended the Stand-Out.
The peaceful protesters held signs that read “Honk for No Kings,” “Stop ICE Terrorism,” and “I like my ICE crushed,” and rang bells to draw more attention.
Donna Ruvolo, a member of the Social Action Committee, passed out cups of water, deliberately without ice. Temperatures were in the mid-80s, but the Stand-Out crowd braves most conditions. They have canceled only two or three times since February.
Ruvolo said that while it is great to attend large protests like the No Kings protest in Boston, it is “equally important to be on a street corner in your hometown.”
Ruvolo handed out slips of paper with the names of the two men killed by ICE, to be read during a moment of silence at 5:45 p.m. The crowd also recognized other people who have been killed by ICE as well as those who have died in immigration detention centers.
As the group went silent, cars continued to honk as they sped down Concord Avenue.
“Thank you. Thank you for remembering,” Ruvolo said at the end of the moment of silence.
“Well, back to it, everyone,” someone shouted from the crowd. And the bells began to ring again.
Citizens Protest
Earlier on Friday, a handful of Belmont and Arlington residents stood in front of Citizens Bank on Leonard Street protesting the bank’s financing of private prisons that oversee federal immigration detention centers. That afternoon, The Boston Globe reported that the bank had cut ties with those clients, citing business reasons.
