Community activists show up at ICE check-ins to support undocumented immigrants
St. Rose, LA – On June 17, over 20 activists and community members showed up to monitor a building in Saint Rose, Louisiana where ICE called in a large number of people for immigration check-ins. The action was called with a hope to video and deter the ICE kidnappings.
“A couple weeks ago, people were getting a text that they have to report to this office at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, June 4. A lot of people were in the waiting room, about 40 people, which is more than usual and seemed really suspicious. It was confirmed that they are detaining people and taking them out back into vans,” Catalina Gallagher, an ICE-watch participant explained.
The check-ins were called through an ICE program called the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program, or ISPA, which permits individuals to remain outside of detention while awaiting immigration court proceedings. An app, run by private prison contractor BI Solutions, tracks individuals and notifies them of appointments.
On Friday June 13, immigrants got a message to report on Father’s Day from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. If they didn’t show up, it would be an infraction. Activists originally planned an ICE-watch for that date and circulated a flier. However, on the morning of Father’s Day, they arrived to see a paper taped to the door that appointments had been rescheduled to Tuesday. It is unclear whether the rescheduling was related to news of rapid community mobilization, but activists are optimistic that the popular resistance to ICE had an effect.
“People being present and having press, the more light we shine on it, we know that is a deterrent. They aren’t used to having people out here, so we are catching them by surprise,” stated Gallager.