Detroiters rally outside of ICE headquarters

Detroit, MI – On Friday, January 31, a crowd of over 80 people braved pouring rain and rallied outside of the local U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Headquarters on Michigan Avenue with signs reading “No human is illegal” and “My parents are not criminals.”

The rally started with the chants “Fuck Trump” and “Power to the people! No one is illegal!” This was followed by a speech from Detroit Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression member Marcel Ulacia, who said, “Today we take a stand in front of the racist police institution known as ICE, who have their eyes set on attacking the Chicano, Latino and Hispanic members of our community.”

A member of Wayne State Students for a Democratic Society, Jackson Robak, spoke later, declaring, “We cannot go back to an era of fear, where people fear at their work sites, where students fear in their schools that they will be ripped out of classrooms by ICE.” Robak continued, “We at SDS demand Wayne State declare itself to be a sanctuary school and we demand an end to student deportations and deportations broadly.”

After these speeches, they crowd marched around the ICE Building, waving many Mexican, Honduran and Puerto Rican flags. Protesters were ready to fight for their neighbors, coworkers and family members. They chanted, “El pueblo unido jamás será vencido,” and “When immigrants are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!”

The rally concluded with two speakers. Jacob Smith of Freedom Road Socialist Organization stated, “In the past two weeks, ICE has been patrolling our communities to harass, intimidate and detain our neighbors, and we’re not going to stand for that!”

Smith continued: “This system exploits undocumented people in every conceivable way, making them work long hours in difficult conditions at poverty wages just to make ends meet. We need to build real networks of support to assist our undocumented neighbors in whatever ways we can, up to and including resisting deportations.”

Cole Hamilton of DAARPR gave the final speech, concluding with, “Together, we’re more powerful than any president, than any group of jackbooted thugs that think they can intimidate us. That power comes from our solidarity with each other, with our undocumented neighbors.”

Afterwards, many of the protesters expressed their deep frustrations with ICE and their current attacks by continuing to hold space for another hour and a half in front of the Headquarters. They eventually moved to a nearby highway overpass holding signs to the passing traffic. A local business supported the protesters by dropping off food and water.

Less than two weeks into Trump’s presidency, the people of Detroit and people all over this country are fed up with Trump’s racist attacks. This is not the first time their communities have come under attack, nor will it be the last. Nevertheless, Detroiters continue to stand up and fight to defend themselves and their communities.

#DetroitMI #MI #ImmigrantRights #Trump #NAARPR #FRSO #SDS #Trump #Featured