Protestors want ICE agents banned from the Criminal Justice Center in Center City, where immigrants have been trailed and arrested.
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Anti-ICE demonstrators end their protest
Rev. Jay Bergen, a leader of No ICE Philly, said the group had accomplished its goal - and that the brutal cold had become too much for older demonstrators, some of whom have medical conditions.
In his closing prayer, Bergen hoped the nearly 2 hour stretch was enough for ICE's target to be somewhere else.
"All of us here have proven in our song and our prayer that we can slow down the machine of authoritarianism, of fascism, that we can delay the operations that will detain and kidnap and destroy our neighbors, our families, our community," he said.
ICE vehicle able to exit garage, helped by Philly police
Just before 9:30 a.m., a white sedan – which had initially been blocked by protesters – was able to exit the ICE headquarters parking bay with the help of Philadelphia Police.
Protestors saw their ranks boosted by City Council member Nicholas O'Rourke, who is also a pastor of the Living Water United Church of Christ in Oxford Circle.
O'Rourke said it was only natural for him to join fellow clergy at Tuesday's frigid demonstration.
A pastor of the Living Water United Church of Christ in Oxford Circle, O'Rourke said Tuesday's action was part of a long tradition of faith leaders being at the forefront of the “struggle against oppression,” as seen with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others.
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'We need more people every day willing to do this'
The group of clergy and immigration advocates continued to sing in locked arms in front of the parking bay in front of ICE headquarters in Center City after its initial “ICE block” in an effort to disrupt immigration enforcement.
Rev. Hannah Capaldi, minister at the Unitarian Society of Germantown, described the selection of participants as an intentional one as they face warnings from police, possible arrests, and citations.
Those present are leveraging a certain level of privilege, she said. All are citizens and many are clergy wearing collars, taluses, and stoles.
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Police warn anti-ICE protesters to clear the area
Philadelphia police officers are warning demonstrators to clear the area.
About 30 immigration advocates are blocking the garage entrance of ICE headquarters in Center City.
A group of about 30 immigration advocates, including local clergy, kicked off the frigid morning shortly before 8 a.m. with song in front of ICE headquarters.
They carried signs that read “Who would jesus deport?” and approximately at 7:55 a.m. the group locked arms calmly shouting “ICE block” as a white sedan tried to make its way out of a garage.
The gate to the garage closed back down almost immediately as the car pulled back in and the group continued in song.
Organizers with No ICE Philly say they’ll form a human blockade to stop ICE vehicles from departing the agency’s Center City headquarters beginning at 8 a.m. Tuesday.
They pledge to stay there, singing and chanting, until they are forcibly removed or arrested or both, in what they say is an effort to stop ICE from “leaving the facility to terrorize our neighbors.”
The ICE office is located at 8th and Cherry Streets, just southwest of the former Roundhouse police building.
In October, a No ICE Philly protest outside the agency headquarters erupted into physical confrontations with police, with several people knocked to the ground and four taken into custody.
When an organizer shouted, “ICE Block!” about a dozen people poured onto Cherry Street to try to block the road. A series of scrums grew increasingly intense, with police shoving protesters back and in some cases to the ground.
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Protesters want ICE agents banned from Philly courthouse
No ICE Philly has been a leader in protests outside the Criminal Justice Center in Center City, where it and other groups have demanded that Sheriff Rochelle Bilal ban immigration agents from the building.
Activists charge that the sheriff has allowed ICE to turn the property into a “hunting ground,” with at least 114 immigrants trailed from the courthouse by agents and arrested on the sidewalk.
