‘Build power, not panic’: San Jose community marches to protest ICE arrests
SAN JOSE Around people gathered Friday afternoon to protest an increase in Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Jose blasting the agency for making arrests outside courtrooms and in plainclothes and calling on masses bureaucrats to take action Shut down ICE Shut down ICE the protesters chanted as they walked from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Application Endorsement Center to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office in South San Jose A man wearing butterfly wings skipped alongside a crowd holding signs that read no deportations no confines militarization and cruelty is not civilized The protest followed an uptick in ICE activity in San Jose over the past week ICE agents arrested four people Tuesday in a raid in South San Jose as they arrived for immigration appointments Agents at the scene stated that those arrested had outstanding removal ord ers ICE agents were again present in San Jose Wednesday and made arrests at an immigration office according to the Santa Clara County Rapid Response Framework Administrators with the federal agency did not respond to multiple requests for comment this week from the Bay Area News Group The enforcement and citizens pushback comes as the Trump administration has ramped up immigration arrests across the country On Tuesday ICE made the highest number of arrests in one day in the agency s history more than NBC News informed Several Bay Area cities including San Jose were included on a list disclosed by the Department of Homeland Prevention that accused them of shielding immigrants from federal personnel The list has since been deleted from the DHS website Around people gathered in South San Jose Friday afternoon to protest Immigration and Custom Enforcement's increased arrests in the area over the last week Caelyn Pender Bay Area News Group Outside the Application Advocacy Center at midday Friday as a line of people queued to wait for services the protesters gathered with signs The protest was planned by the Solidarity and Unity Structure the Silicon Valley Immigration Committee Human Agenda Amigos de Guadalupe and the Services Immigrant Rights And Instruction Organization according to a press release Say it loud say it clear immigrants are welcome here the group chanted San Jose City Councilmember Peter Ortiz disclosed that he was pleased to stand alongside a group of advocates fighting against ICE whose work he called domestic terrorism They are targeting residents law-abiding residents for nothing more than merely not having papers or not having citizenship he stated in his speech That s disgusting That s something we see in fascist governments and it s happening here in our very own backyards Richard Hobbs an immigration lawyer founder of Human Agenda and a coordinator of the Solidarity and Unity Framework called on state and federal officials to file charges against ICE leaders for exceeding their authority and detaining and jailing people without probable cause or due process I ve been an immigration attorney for years and I ve never seen this level of fear in our population he mentioned As part of the Solidarity and Unity Organization Human Agenda calls on ICE to follow the law cease its deceptive tactics and release Santa Clara County residents who have been brutalized by ICE locally We are here in contemporary times to build power not panic in the group he added All of those who care about human rights need to stand up and fight back Uriel Magdaleno an organizer with the Silicon Valley Immigration Committee condemned ICE agents for carrying out operations while wearing plainclothes and with their faces covered The immigrants that are being targeted are immigrants who are vulnerable he explained They re actively seeking people who have been here for less than two years people who can have expedited deportation San Jose City Councilmember Pamela Campos added that San Jose has been built on a area of immigrants The target has moved on to hard-working families children in our communities Campos announced Trump s lies are becoming very clear and very evident that in San Jose and the Silicon Valley our immigrants are strong hard working people that provide the biggest benefit to our public by establishing strong diverse leaders voices and members of San Jose a San Jose that is beautiful because of our diversity Related Articles US charges Kilmar Abrego Garcia with transporting people who were in the country illegally Lopez If helpers for our elders get deported who takes their place Trump s voyage ban on countries What to know who s exempted Bring Miguel Home Livermore rally demands father be returned from ICE custody Statement ICE agents arrest four in South San Jose raid The procession of protesters eventually made its way to a parking lot where ICE had staged an operation earlier in the week and where the organizers received unconfirmed reports that ICE was staging again There Santa Clara County Supervisor Betty Duong reaffirmed the county s commitment to standing with its immigrant communities We will not back off or back down We have a well-earned target on our back from the federal administration so let s make sure we show them and remind them every single day why they hate us Duong revealed Santa Clara County protects our immigrant communities We remain committed to protecting the rights dignity and safety of our undocumented neighbors No one should ever be afraid to go to doctors to take their children to school to seek help from county services or go to work