Protesters in Louisville, Kentucky set up a short-lived encampment outside the city's ICE facility on Monday. (Photo: @dsa_louisville/Twitter)
Jul 02, 2018
Protesters in Louisville, Kentucky were outraged Monday after police swiftly removed an encampment they had set up outside the city's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility as part of the national #OccupyICE movement.
Demonstrators had arrived at ICE's offices early on Monday morning, setting up tents, erecting barricades to block law enforcement vehicles from entering the property, and placing toys in the driveway to symbolize the thousands of children who have been separated from their families by ICE under President Donald Trump's "zero tolerance" immigration policy.
The Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) sent officers to the scene immediately, and the protesters had been on the property for just over two hours when Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers arrived to force them to leave.
Protesters noted that Fischer had spoken out on Saturday against the Trump administration's treatment of immigrant communities, calling Louisville a "welcoming" and "compassionate" city.
\u201cFamilies belong together! Excited to join this rally to show that Louisville is a welcoming city, and to let Washington know that we can be strong AND compassionate at the same time. Es importante que seamos unidos \u2013 It\u2019s important that we are all united! #FamiliesBelongTogether\u201d— Mayor Greg Fischer (@Mayor Greg Fischer) 1530373541
\u201c@louisvillemayor If you are truly a mayor of \u201ccompassion\u201d, then get @LMPD away from DHS and ICE police. If you are truly a major for our Latinx, Black Muslim and undocumented neighbors, let us #OccupyICELou #ABOLISHICE\u201d— Dan \ud83d\udfe5 (@Dan \ud83d\udfe5) 1530530301
DHS removed the protesters days after officers in Portland, Oregon had done the same to the country's original #OccupyICE protest. The encampment established on June 17 kept ICE's facilities in Portland closed for more than a week.
In Wichita, Kansas on Monday, protesters reported that police had begun removing their encampment from the entrance to the ICE office where they had been protesting.
\u201cHomeland Security and WPD here to remove. Advising the space is leased and thus private property. So, ICE is leasing from an individual. That individual can apparently violate our constitutional rights.We disagree. #OccupyIce #OccupyIceIct\u201d— \ud83c\udf3bICTi \ud83c\udff4\u200d\u2620\ufe0f (@\ud83c\udf3bICTi \ud83c\udff4\u200d\u2620\ufe0f) 1530549328
The forced removals come as the Trump administration has taken notice of the movement to abolish ICE, which has gained traction in Congress as well as among progressive candidates like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York's 14th congressional district and in a number of cities.
Days after Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) announced he would introduce legislation to abolish ICE, President Donald Trump told Fox News that without the 15-year-old agency enforcing his immigration policy, "you're going to be afraid to walk out of your house," and tweeted, "Crime would be rampant and uncontrollable!"
Some political commentators have dismissed the #AbolishICE movement as one that plays into Trump's caricature of Democrats and the left, with CNN's Julian Zelizer writing, "a call to abolish anything makes it sound as if the proponents want the entire [immigration] system to go away."
The Daily Kos's Stephen Wolf disagreed on Twitter, reminding critics that ICE's aggressive raids and arrests of immigrants who have no criminal backgrounds--and at least one whose green card application was underway--is connected with Trump's overall agenda regarding the oppression of immigrant and Latino communities.
\u201c#AbolishICE isn't @SeanMcElwee's fever dream, it's a coherent policy goal. And if you don't think this is connected to voting rights, Trump's anti-immigrant policies are designed to scare Latinos into not participating in the census & deprive their communities of representation https://t.co/0h4jxSF9a2\u201d— Stephen Wolf (@Stephen Wolf) 1530479718
\u201c@SeanMcElwee Trump is actively trying to terrify both undocumented immigrants AND those with authorization to be here or who are naturalized citizens. The entire purpose is to decimate their political power to preserve white supremacy https://t.co/Qk1KfLS6ir\u201d— Stephen Wolf (@Stephen Wolf) 1530479718
\u201cFighting Trump's push to ask citizenship on the census & fighting to #AbolishICE & have saner immigration laws go hand in hand. Trump's regime tries to terrify immigrants of all stripes & Latinos regardless of their legal status, & it's intended to dilute their political power\u201d— Stephen Wolf (@Stephen Wolf) 1530479718
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alexandria ocasio-corteziceimmigrationmark pocanpeople powerpoliticstrumpismus department of homeland securitywhite supremacy
Protesters in Louisville, Kentucky were outraged Monday after police swiftly removed an encampment they had set up outside the city's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility as part of the national #OccupyICE movement.
Demonstrators had arrived at ICE's offices early on Monday morning, setting up tents, erecting barricades to block law enforcement vehicles from entering the property, and placing toys in the driveway to symbolize the thousands of children who have been separated from their families by ICE under President Donald Trump's "zero tolerance" immigration policy.
The Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) sent officers to the scene immediately, and the protesters had been on the property for just over two hours when Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers arrived to force them to leave.
Protesters noted that Fischer had spoken out on Saturday against the Trump administration's treatment of immigrant communities, calling Louisville a "welcoming" and "compassionate" city.
\u201cFamilies belong together! Excited to join this rally to show that Louisville is a welcoming city, and to let Washington know that we can be strong AND compassionate at the same time. Es importante que seamos unidos \u2013 It\u2019s important that we are all united! #FamiliesBelongTogether\u201d— Mayor Greg Fischer (@Mayor Greg Fischer) 1530373541
\u201c@louisvillemayor If you are truly a mayor of \u201ccompassion\u201d, then get @LMPD away from DHS and ICE police. If you are truly a major for our Latinx, Black Muslim and undocumented neighbors, let us #OccupyICELou #ABOLISHICE\u201d— Dan \ud83d\udfe5 (@Dan \ud83d\udfe5) 1530530301
DHS removed the protesters days after officers in Portland, Oregon had done the same to the country's original #OccupyICE protest. The encampment established on June 17 kept ICE's facilities in Portland closed for more than a week.
In Wichita, Kansas on Monday, protesters reported that police had begun removing their encampment from the entrance to the ICE office where they had been protesting.
\u201cHomeland Security and WPD here to remove. Advising the space is leased and thus private property. So, ICE is leasing from an individual. That individual can apparently violate our constitutional rights.We disagree. #OccupyIce #OccupyIceIct\u201d— \ud83c\udf3bICTi \ud83c\udff4\u200d\u2620\ufe0f (@\ud83c\udf3bICTi \ud83c\udff4\u200d\u2620\ufe0f) 1530549328
The forced removals come as the Trump administration has taken notice of the movement to abolish ICE, which has gained traction in Congress as well as among progressive candidates like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York's 14th congressional district and in a number of cities.
Days after Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) announced he would introduce legislation to abolish ICE, President Donald Trump told Fox News that without the 15-year-old agency enforcing his immigration policy, "you're going to be afraid to walk out of your house," and tweeted, "Crime would be rampant and uncontrollable!"
Some political commentators have dismissed the #AbolishICE movement as one that plays into Trump's caricature of Democrats and the left, with CNN's Julian Zelizer writing, "a call to abolish anything makes it sound as if the proponents want the entire [immigration] system to go away."
The Daily Kos's Stephen Wolf disagreed on Twitter, reminding critics that ICE's aggressive raids and arrests of immigrants who have no criminal backgrounds--and at least one whose green card application was underway--is connected with Trump's overall agenda regarding the oppression of immigrant and Latino communities.
\u201c#AbolishICE isn't @SeanMcElwee's fever dream, it's a coherent policy goal. And if you don't think this is connected to voting rights, Trump's anti-immigrant policies are designed to scare Latinos into not participating in the census & deprive their communities of representation https://t.co/0h4jxSF9a2\u201d— Stephen Wolf (@Stephen Wolf) 1530479718
\u201c@SeanMcElwee Trump is actively trying to terrify both undocumented immigrants AND those with authorization to be here or who are naturalized citizens. The entire purpose is to decimate their political power to preserve white supremacy https://t.co/Qk1KfLS6ir\u201d— Stephen Wolf (@Stephen Wolf) 1530479718
\u201cFighting Trump's push to ask citizenship on the census & fighting to #AbolishICE & have saner immigration laws go hand in hand. Trump's regime tries to terrify immigrants of all stripes & Latinos regardless of their legal status, & it's intended to dilute their political power\u201d— Stephen Wolf (@Stephen Wolf) 1530479718
Protesters in Louisville, Kentucky were outraged Monday after police swiftly removed an encampment they had set up outside the city's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility as part of the national #OccupyICE movement.
Demonstrators had arrived at ICE's offices early on Monday morning, setting up tents, erecting barricades to block law enforcement vehicles from entering the property, and placing toys in the driveway to symbolize the thousands of children who have been separated from their families by ICE under President Donald Trump's "zero tolerance" immigration policy.
The Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) sent officers to the scene immediately, and the protesters had been on the property for just over two hours when Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers arrived to force them to leave.
Protesters noted that Fischer had spoken out on Saturday against the Trump administration's treatment of immigrant communities, calling Louisville a "welcoming" and "compassionate" city.
\u201cFamilies belong together! Excited to join this rally to show that Louisville is a welcoming city, and to let Washington know that we can be strong AND compassionate at the same time. Es importante que seamos unidos \u2013 It\u2019s important that we are all united! #FamiliesBelongTogether\u201d— Mayor Greg Fischer (@Mayor Greg Fischer) 1530373541
\u201c@louisvillemayor If you are truly a mayor of \u201ccompassion\u201d, then get @LMPD away from DHS and ICE police. If you are truly a major for our Latinx, Black Muslim and undocumented neighbors, let us #OccupyICELou #ABOLISHICE\u201d— Dan \ud83d\udfe5 (@Dan \ud83d\udfe5) 1530530301
DHS removed the protesters days after officers in Portland, Oregon had done the same to the country's original #OccupyICE protest. The encampment established on June 17 kept ICE's facilities in Portland closed for more than a week.
In Wichita, Kansas on Monday, protesters reported that police had begun removing their encampment from the entrance to the ICE office where they had been protesting.
\u201cHomeland Security and WPD here to remove. Advising the space is leased and thus private property. So, ICE is leasing from an individual. That individual can apparently violate our constitutional rights.We disagree. #OccupyIce #OccupyIceIct\u201d— \ud83c\udf3bICTi \ud83c\udff4\u200d\u2620\ufe0f (@\ud83c\udf3bICTi \ud83c\udff4\u200d\u2620\ufe0f) 1530549328
The forced removals come as the Trump administration has taken notice of the movement to abolish ICE, which has gained traction in Congress as well as among progressive candidates like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York's 14th congressional district and in a number of cities.
Days after Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) announced he would introduce legislation to abolish ICE, President Donald Trump told Fox News that without the 15-year-old agency enforcing his immigration policy, "you're going to be afraid to walk out of your house," and tweeted, "Crime would be rampant and uncontrollable!"
Some political commentators have dismissed the #AbolishICE movement as one that plays into Trump's caricature of Democrats and the left, with CNN's Julian Zelizer writing, "a call to abolish anything makes it sound as if the proponents want the entire [immigration] system to go away."
The Daily Kos's Stephen Wolf disagreed on Twitter, reminding critics that ICE's aggressive raids and arrests of immigrants who have no criminal backgrounds--and at least one whose green card application was underway--is connected with Trump's overall agenda regarding the oppression of immigrant and Latino communities.
\u201c#AbolishICE isn't @SeanMcElwee's fever dream, it's a coherent policy goal. And if you don't think this is connected to voting rights, Trump's anti-immigrant policies are designed to scare Latinos into not participating in the census & deprive their communities of representation https://t.co/0h4jxSF9a2\u201d— Stephen Wolf (@Stephen Wolf) 1530479718
\u201c@SeanMcElwee Trump is actively trying to terrify both undocumented immigrants AND those with authorization to be here or who are naturalized citizens. The entire purpose is to decimate their political power to preserve white supremacy https://t.co/Qk1KfLS6ir\u201d— Stephen Wolf (@Stephen Wolf) 1530479718
\u201cFighting Trump's push to ask citizenship on the census & fighting to #AbolishICE & have saner immigration laws go hand in hand. Trump's regime tries to terrify immigrants of all stripes & Latinos regardless of their legal status, & it's intended to dilute their political power\u201d— Stephen Wolf (@Stephen Wolf) 1530479718
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