New Yorkers speak out against ICE murders at the Brooklyn detention center

Brooklyn, NY — On the evening of Friday, July 17, community members gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center for a speak-out style protest under the banner “No more ICE murders!”

The action, held in full view of the Gowanus Expressway, was organized by the New York Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, which was joined by organizers and speakers from Brooklyn Against War, NYC ICE Watch, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Protesters unfurled a massive banner reading “ICE out of everywhere” as rush-hour traffic roared past on the elevated expressway and Brooklyn’s 3rd Avenue. That tactic drew plenty of positive attention, as drivers on the expressway responded with a chorus of honks, signaling solidarity with the demonstrators. Meanwhile, organizers handed out flyers to pedestrians walking past on the sidewalk, some of whom joined the action to chant and listen to the lineup of speakers.

Speakers addressed the crowd and passing commuters alike, demanding justice for the victims of recent ICE violence, legalization for all undocumented immigrants, and a complete withdrawal of ICE and all federal agents from New York City. Conditions around the MDC, a federal facility holding at least 200 immigrants, many of whom have not been charged with a crime, were condemned as a manifestation of racist national repression.

“The Metropolitan detention center is notorious for being dark and overcrowded, for mold and fungus, and poor quality food, for non-functioning toilets and unsanitary conditions,” NYAARPR organizer Jamie Kowalski said in a speech. “We demand free all ICE detainees from the MDC!”

The evening’s program also featured calls to action linking local resistance to the broader national movement against ICE violence.

“We are the New York Alliance, and we are out here to say we reject the idea that communities are made safer by armed immigration raids,” said organizer Ruby Doswell. “We reject the criminalization of immigrants who come to this country to work, support their families, and build a future. We demand accountability for the deaths of Lorenzo [Salgado Araujo], Joan [Sebastián Durán Guerrero], and Juan [Jairo Coronilla Duran].”

In their speech, Briony Smith, an organizer with Brooklyn Against War, observed that repressive immigration enforcement is not “arbitrary” or “isolated,” but the domestic arm of U.S. imperialism.

ICE repression “is part of a larger agenda that looks to expel, in particular, Latin American people but not exclusively, at the same time that the Trump administration attempts to extend its tentacles throughout Central and South America to suck dry the resources of sovereign countries, in order to enrich American billionaires,” Smith told the crowd.

The protest comes amid escalating outrage over ICE’s deadly operations and the ongoing invasions of immigrant communities. Organizers made it clear that the struggle is far from over, vowing to continue building pressure until ICE is removed from every corner of the city.

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