STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Protesters gathered on an overpass above the Staten Island Expressway on Thursday morning to oppose enforcement efforts by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
The individuals hung a protest sign that said “ICE KILLS” on the Woolley Avenue overpass of the expressway. ICE is a common abbreviation for the agency.
Diane Velletri of the Staten Island Action Coalition was among the protesters standing on the overpass. Velletri is opposed to what she believes are illegal tactics used by the agency against immigrants.
Velletri described the effort as part of a nationwide “visibility brigade” prompted by the fatal shooting of Renee Good, 37, during an encounter with enforcement agents in Minneapolis.
Velletri said the shooting was “beyond anything that has already happened. The reason that she was out there and those other people were out there is because what is happening is illegal. It’s cruel beyond words.”
Referring to the agency, she said “they are just ruining this country.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem described the incident as an “act of domestic terrorism” carried out against ICE officers by a woman who “attempted to run them over and rammed them with her vehicle. An officer of ours acted quickly and defensively, shot, to protect himself and the people around him.”
In a social media post, President Donald Trump made similar accusations against the woman and defended ICE’s work.
But Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey blasted Noem’s version of what happened as “garbage” and criticized the federal deployment of more than 2,000 officers to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul as part of the immigration crackdown.
Velletri believes that the fatal shooting in Minneapolis was intended to make people afraid to exercise their right to free speech. The freedom to protest is part of “what makes America great” she said.
Supportive honks, tossed soda
Drivers had mixed reactions to the protesters, ranging from supportive honks to shouted curses. Someone hurled a cup of soda at the group, Velletri said.
The group will be removing and reposting the sign as needed to avoid being targeted, she said.
“The word’s getting out, people have to wake up,” Velletri said about the enforcement actions.
Protesters gather on the Woolley Avenue overpass of the Staten Island Expressway to oppose enforcement actions by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.(Advance/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)
Protesters gather on the Woolley Avenue overpass of the Staten Island Expressway to oppose enforcement actions by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.(Advance/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)