SUNDAY, JAN. 18:
EMERGENCY PROTEST: ICE OUT!
In response to reports of a large influx of ICE agents, Richmond-area immigrants rights activists to hold rally
In response to a noticeably sharp increase in the presence of ICE agents in the Richmond area, local immigrant rights organizations are calling for a rally at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 18 at Richmond’s Monroe Park, in the 600 block of West Main Street.
The organizations co-sponsoring the rally are Virginia Immigrants for Life, Liberation, Autonomy and Solidarity (VILLAS) and The Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice and Equality.
Credible sources have reported that the federal government has sent around 180 Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to Richmond as of Friday, Jan. 16. ICE has been here for years and recently has been more visible on the streets, but this seems to be a sharp escalation in their numbers.
We’re holding the rally to call on state and local elected officials including Gov. Abigail Spanberger and Richmond Mayor Danny Avula to protect our immigrant communities, and to encourage the general public to do the same.
Like Los Angeles; New Orleans; Memphis; Portland; Minneapolis and other cities targeted by the Trump administration, Richmond is a largely Democratic city run by a Democratic mayor, with a significant immigrant population. In Richmond’s case, the mayor himself is an immigrant.
Rally organizers will raise very similar demands that several of the immigrant rights groups presented Aug. 11 at a press conference and rally in front of Richmond City Hall. Those demands are:
ICE Out of Richmond Demands
We need to pass policies banning and ending all local and state collaboration with any federal immigration enforcement agencies, including but not limited to all 287(G) contracts.
We need to ban masked and unidentified policing.
We must ensure that Richmond does not renegotiate any contract with Flock surveillance cameras and/or any other surveillance technology.
We need to ensure legal and financial support from the state and the city for those detained.
We need to shut down all detention centers in Virginia.
Elected local and state representatives must accompany their constituents to immigration court hearings to protect against ICE kidnappings and ensure public accountability during proceedings.
We need sustainable sources of funding for the groups and organizations that have always filled in the gaps between our immigrant communities and local & state governments.
We demand that if our city and state leaders fail to act, all Richmond and Greater Richmond residents step up and protect our neighbors from detention, deportation, and police violence. We have no other choice.
For more information, email DefendersFJE@hotmail.com or call or text 804-644-5834.
