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Resident criticizes ICE detentions and U.S. policy on Gaza during public comment
Summary
At the March 17 meeting the only public commenter recited a poem and urged the board to oppose what the speaker described as U.S. government abuses, citing recent detentions of two individuals and drawing parallels to violence in Gaza.
Dan Buer, a resident who signed up to speak during the public comment period, recited the famous poem beginning "First they came..." and used the remarks to criticize U.S. immigration enforcement and U.S. policy in Gaza.
"This poem is not just a warning from history. It is our reality today," Buer said, then described two cases by name: Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian graduate student at Columbia University, whom Buer said was taken by ICE on March 8, 2025 and transferred to a detention facility in Louisiana; and Fabian Schmidt, whom Buer said was detained at Logan Airport and "tortured in ICE custody, beaten so badly he had to be hospitalized." Buer characterized conditions in detention centers as "systemic abuse, excessive force, solitary confinement, inhumane conditions" and said "this is state sponsored violence happening right here, right now." He told the board, "This board sets the tone for what is acceptable in this community."
Buer's remarks occurred during the public comment portion of the agenda; no board response or related agenda action was recorded in the transcript. The speaker urged the board to speak out and take a stand on the issues he raised. The transcript records no staff reports, motions or directives tied to the comments during the meeting.
The public comment took approximately five minutes and was the only public comment noted on the meeting record.
