Politics & Government

Activists Block ICE Headquarters In DC (Video)

Activists protesting ICE raids against immigrants over the weekend reportedly blocked the entrance to headquarters in D.C. on Tuesday.

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Activists reportedly protested at ICE headquarters on Tuesday, blocking doors to the building.
Activists reportedly protested at ICE headquarters on Tuesday, blocking doors to the building. (Image via Google Maps)

WASHINGTON, DC -- Activists blocked the doors at the headquarters for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in D.C. on Tuesday, demanding that the agency be shuttered after raids against immigrants over the weekend and the treatment of asylum-seekers at the border, according to reports.

Newsweek reports that Jewish and immigrant demonstrators from the organizations Never Again Action and Cosecha Movement had gathered en masse to protest the agency.

Some protesters occupied the lobby of ICE headquarters while others blocked entrances. WJLA's Carolina Patrickis posted videos of the protest on Twitter.

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Patrickis reported that 11 people were arrested by Federal Protective Services.

President Trump's threatened roundup of about 2,000 undocumented immigrant families didn't occur on a large scale Sunday, but activists around the country are warning migrants that the threat is not over. About 1 million people in the country illegally have final removal orders, but the operation targets about 2,000 of them.

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The American Immigration Council said it received reports of minor raids in New York, Oregon and Washington State, but told Patch those operations were "normal activity" by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. Only a handful or arrests were reported, but areas typically teeming with immigrants were noticeably quiet as families stayed indoors and refused to answer their doors

Large-scale raids had been expected Sunday in 10 U.S. cities: Miami, Atlanta, Chicago, Baltimore, Denver, Houston, Las Angeles, New Orleans, New York City and San Francisco. The city of New Orleans said ICE enforcement would be suspended through the weekend due to threats by now Tropical Depression Barry.

Additional reporting by Beth Dalbey/Patch

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