Detroit protest at ICE slams deportations
Detroit, MI – 50 protesters gathered at the Detroit ICE headquarters, March 29, in response to Trump’s racist attacks on immigrants and to demand Detroit be declared a sanctuary city. Over the past weeks, several families in the city, including victims of the flooding in the Southwest neighborhood, have been turned over to ICE by the Detroit Police Department.
Opening the rally, Kassandra Rodriguez of Detroit Comité de Acción Comunitaria spoke on the need to end all deportations, saying, “As a second generation Latina, this fight hits very close to home. I have seen the direct harm ICE causes to our community. ICE raids our homes to send us back to countries that are being destroyed. And then they work with local police to harass us in a place we come to for sanctuary. I say enough is enough!”
On a similar note, Marcel Ulacia spoke for Detroit Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, attesting to the need for community control of Detroit PD, partially to end all cooperation between Detroit PD and ICE. Ulacia cited this cooperation in the recent deportation of a victim of the Southwest flooding.
Jo Pico of Detroit Anti-War Committee stated than when communities are separated, the racist politicians “are able to dismantle us, but together, we can land real blows against this administration that seeks to annihilate our ways of life, across the globe and here at home.”
After hearing from these speakers and others, the crowd proceeded to march around the ICE headquarters building. From their offices, Homeland Security officers could hear people chanting “Money for housing and education, not for war and deportations.” Their voices carried the anger and the determination of the movement against Trump’s administration.
Upon returning to the front of the ICE building, Jackson Robak of Freedom Road Socialist Organization spoke. They illustrated the necessity to build a movement against Trump in order to make the United States ungovernable, saying, “We can’t allow for our country to be ruled by a bunch of billionaires and oligarchs.”
The rally finished with a speaker from Wayne State Students for a Democratic Society, continuing their call for Wayne State to declare itself a sanctuary campus and to defend students against politically-motivated deportations. The crowd chanted, “No fear, no hate, no ICE at Wayne State,” as a close out.
The protest was called by Detroit Comité de Acción Comunitaria, a Legalization 4 All affiliate that formed in response to these recent attacks by Detroit PD and ICE. Other organizations include Detroit Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Detroit Anti-War Committee, Engineers Against Apartheid, Wayne State Students for a Democratic Society, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization.
Overall, the march conveyed the solidarity within the Detroit community, from defending immigrants’ rights to opposing U.S. intervention to protecting free speech. The people of Detroit remain steadfast in their opposition to these attacks perpetrated against all members of their community.