ICE detention centers have expanded 50% under Trump’s leadership. Thousands of people have been detained in 2025, a number that’s doubled since the year prior. And now, a new ICE headquarters is flagging concerns in Burlington, Massachusetts. A video posted on TikTok by bearingwitnessat_ice shows just how close this detention center is to the city’s busiest mall. In a sobering moment, it’s revealed what’s happening right under the noses of locals.
“Hey New England. Today, I’m going to show you how long it takes to walk from the Burlington Mall to ICE’s New England headquarters,” the Bearing Witness member says in the video. The camera pans away from the Burlington Mall as she walks toward an unsuspecting building. After less than a minute crossing several parking lots, she arrives at the ICE headquarters, explaining that ICE agents are deployed in unmarked vehicles to abduct immigrants throughout New England states.
“When an immigrant in Massachusetts is arrested, they’re often taken to this facility for processing, where they are denied due process,” she says. According to the video, the headquarters was once used for temporary holding with no overnight detention. “Immigrants are now being detained for days in cells with no beds, no windows, no clocks, no soap, no showers, and hardly any food or water,” the Bearing Witness member explains.
Detainment rooms are compared to jail cells, with at least a dozen detainees in one room. She describes each room having only one toilet out in the open, with no option for privacy. Once detained, those locked inside have no way to leave or see the outside world. As the Bearing Witness member walks up to the ICE headquarters, it’s unmarked, with darkly tinted windows. “For many of us in Massachusetts, the Burlington Mall is our local mall,” she says, adding, “And this facility is in our own backyard,“ before making a call to action.
Many viewers supported the call, with user Dakota saying, “Okay massholes, you know what to do.” Another user by the handle Roberta said, “This is where my husband was held before being taken to Plymouth penitentiary. He said the prison was better than the holding cell here. It’s so sad & scary.” Many followers shared mutual disgust for the building’s proximity to such a local spot. “The owner of the building is Robert Murray. He also owns Cafe Escadrille in Burlington. There are protests at ICE every Wednesday 11-1. Another protest on Saturday, 11-1 at the corner of District Ave and Mall Road.”
