AMHERST — More than 100 people lined the downtown streets Sunday afternoon to register their opposition to actions leading to two people in Amherst being taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on the morning of May 28.

Organized by the Franklin County Continuing the Political Revolution’s rapid response network, with participants joining the weekly peace vigil that has been taking place at the edge of the North Common for 60 years, the “ICE out of the Valley” protest called for an end to the federal government’s crackdown on immigrants, with demands for due process and more information being released when anyone is being held by ICE.

On Monday, during a press conference in Boston, federal officials offered some details about what it is calling “Operation Patriot,” the initiative that during May in Massachusetts led to the arrest of close to 1,500 individuals who are allegedly in the country illegally, including many who authorities contend have criminal records that include being murderers, drug traffickers and sex offenders.

For David Detmold of Montague, a coordinator of the rapid response network, the incidents in Amherst are troubling because in both cases the individuals being held support their families financially. In one of the cases, the man being held at an unknown location has three children, a wife and a parent, all of whom rely on his income.

Detmold said efforts are underway to contact both individuals being held.

The rally raised $800 on behalf of the impacted families, which can be used for legal help and other assistance. But Detmold said this will be insufficient. “We can’t keep up with the growing need,” Detmold said.

Much of the action also involved distributing flyers about the immigrant-led LUCE network and the round the clock hotlines that can be called at 617-370-5023, if ICE is spotted in the region. This provides immediate support to immigrant families impacted by ICE detentions, and dispatches trained “verifiers” to the scene of any rumored ICE activity or detentions so the circumstances are understood and resources are provided, such as legal support or help with immediate needs.

Sunday’s protest was mostly quiet with signs being held such as “Immigrants Make America Great,” “People are Never Illegal” and “Democracy Dies in Silence.”

“We were mostly there in support of the noon peace vigil,” Detmold said.

But some attendees were expected to be at the Town Council meeting Monday to seek clarity from the councilors about how Amherst Police should respond to situations, especially if reports, such as suspicious unmarked vehicles being around town and masked individuals, are accurate.

Like during earlier incidents, Amherst officials stated the town is a sanctuary community and doesn’t cooperate with ICE. The towns general bylaws state that “to the extent permissible by law, a town department, or officer or employee of a town department, shall not perform the functions of an immigration officer.”

The federal officials used Monday’s announcements to warn about sanctuary policies in cities and towns and across the state, which they claim are creating more problems and that causes others to get swept up in enforcement. Such was the case of Milford teenager Marcelo Gomes, who was on his way to high school volleyball practice when his vehicle was surrounded by ICE agents. Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said agents had been looking for Gomes’ father, but took the son into custody because he, too, is in the country illegally.

“Sanctuary policies put us in a positon to go out into communities and look for people,” said Patricia Hyde, acting field director for Boston’s ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations.

“When we find others who are unlawfully here, we are going to arrest them,” Hyde said. “We’ve been completely transparent with that.”

Michael J. Krol, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations New England, said the news conference was not a victory lap and the 1,461 individuals arrested is not the end of the work.

“It should be no secret by now that you will continue to see all of our special agents and officers in your communities conducting daily enforcement actions 24/7,” Krol said.

Krol also issued a warning about efforts to interfere.

“I caution those who try to impede or obstruct operations or those who dare to threaten or assault our law enforcement officers,” Krol said.

Lyons said the FBI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the ATF, the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, the U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Coast Guardhave assisted in the ongoing work.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.