Tacoma crowds demand ‘Masks off ICE’ and community mobilizes for rapid response

Tacoma, WA – In the early afternoon of November 9, around 100 people rallied for “Masks-Off ICE” to prevent ICE and DHS from operating anonymously. The Pierce County Immigration Alliance (PCIA or La Alianza) organized to demand community accountability and spread the word about need for rapid response.

The Franklin Pierce Radical Teachers Caucus spoke about ICE out of schools and the power of people’s movements. Malaya Tacoma and Tanggol Migrante demanded ICE out of hospitals and justice for detainees in need of medical care.

Matt Price from the Franklin Pierce Association’s Radical Caucus: Fight Injustice and Reimagine Education (FPEA FIRE) said, “We must work not only to unmask ICE agents, but also to unmask silence, and unmask complicity, as ICE terrorizes our community.” The PNW Chapter of International Migrants Alliance and a speaker on behalf of La Resistencia also demanded justice for immigrants, legalization for all, and a shutdown of the Northwest Detention Center.

All rally attendees were given instructions on how to join rapid response chats, tips on how to identify ICE, and each handed a stack of colorful posters, Know Your Rights flyers, and tape to put these up around their neighborhoods. Attendees were mobilized to have all eyes on ICE and put posters and resources on every corner of the city to let immigrants know they belong here. As stated by a member of the Climate Alliance of the South Sound (CASS), “No act of resistance is too small — it all adds up. We have to come together, fight together, and that way we will win together.”

When asked why they showed up for Masks-Off ICE, one attendee said, “Never again means here, means overseas, and I can’t bear the thought of looking back years in the future, when this terror came to my home and thinking I didn’t do anything to prevent it, especially as a first generation Holocaust survivor.”

Another rally attendee added, “I’m here because I’m against ICE scaring and hurting my community members!”

The rally successfully activated community members to take action and get connected, and there was a clear sense from attendees that they were angry and ready to fight back.

#TacomaWA #WA #ImmigrantRights #ICE