Here’s a look at the key groups that are protesting federal immigration enforcement efforts in Minneapolis and beyond.
Two protestors were recently shot and killed by ICE agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The Trump administration is ramping up immigration enforcement in the city, and protestors are coming out full force against the efforts.
Both Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old Veterans Affairs ICU nurse, and Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, participated in “ICE watching”.
The activity involves tracking ICE agents, filming arrests, and alerting other activists of immigration enforcement actions. These tactics place untrained civilians in dangerous confrontations with federal agents.
In Minneapolis, organization Defend the 612 oversees a network of communication that monitors ICE activity and contributes to protests. Renee Good is believed to have been a member of the group.
The group hosts ICE watch trainings and instructs attendees on how to identify and document immigration enforcement actions, as well as how to communicate findings to the rest of the group.
The group relies on the Signal platform to communicate, and often utilizes nicknames or codes to keep track of ICE activity.
In Pennsylvania, an ‘ICE Out’ rally has been planned in Harrisburg. Protestors are planning to march in opposition to immigration enforcement actions. The rally is being organized by the Harrisburg Palestine Coalition, Students Against Injustice, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
Organizers are calling for Harrisburg to permanently sever all ties with the agency. The protest comes after Police Commissioner Thomas Carter made comments about the city’s police force cooperating with ICE.
Last week in Philadelphia, hundreds of protestors marched from Philadelphia’s City Hall to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Chinatown.
Those protesting spoke out against the actions of ICE in Minnesota and across the country. Previously, over two dozen demonstrators with No ICE Philly blocked a garage at the agency’s field office.
Protestors and groups are becoming increasingly willing to impede law enforcement in their actions against ICE in cities across the country.
