{"id":107289,"date":"2026-01-21T15:35:43","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T15:35:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/107289\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T15:35:43","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T15:35:43","slug":"protesters-call-on-schumer-to-use-leverage-to-rein-in-ice-block-dhs-funding-brooklyn-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/107289\/","title":{"rendered":"Protesters call on Schumer to use leverage to rein in ICE, block DHS funding \u2022 Brooklyn Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"NY:\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Indivisible Brooklyn members rallied outside Sen. Chuck Schumer\u2019s Park Slope home Jan. 20, urging the Senate Democratic leader to oppose additional funding for ICE and to limit the agency\u2019s operations in U.S. cities.<\/p>\n

Photo by Gabriele Holtermann<\/p>\n

About 25 members of Indivisible Brooklyn<\/a>, an all-volunteer grassroots group that organizes actions and events to promote justice and hold elected officials accountable, braved freezing temperatures on Jan. 20 to rally outside Sen. Chuck Schumer\u2019s home in Park Slope.<\/p>\n

The group is calling on Schumer to use his leverage as Senate minority leader to oppose any appropriations bill that includes increased funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Border Patrol when the Senate returns to session on Jan. 26.<\/p>\n

The rally was part of a weeklong, daily protest<\/a> outside Schumer\u2019s home and office urging him to use the upcoming funding deadline to rein in ICE. It comes amid a surge in warrantless raids and arrests of undocumented immigrants and U.S. citizens, as well as the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good<\/a> on Jan. 7 in Minneapolis by ICE agent Jonathan Ross as Good was attempting to drive away from a protest.<\/p>\n

\"\"Protesters hold signs reading \u201cWill Chuck Fight?\u201d and \u201cNo ICE\u201d during a Jan. 20 demonstration outside Sen. Chuck Schumer\u2019s home in Park Slope.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Demonstrators brave cold weather on Prospect Park West, pressing Schumer to use his influence as Senate minority leader on immigration enforcement.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann<\/p>\n

Good\u2019s death sparked mass anti-ICE demonstrations in Minnesota and across the country. The protests have often been met with what organizers describe as excessive force by ICE agents, including the use of pepper spray and arrests. Nearly 3,000 ICE agents are currently deployed to the Minneapolis region, and on Jan. 19, the Pentagon announced that 1,500 troops were preparing for a possible deployment to Minnesota.<\/p>\n

An appropriations bill to continue funding the Department of Homeland Security is due Jan. 30. Protesters held signs reading \u201cWill Chuck Fight?\u201d and \u201cNo ICE,\u201d demanding that Schumer use his power as Senate Democratic caucus leader to end what they described as reckless immigration raids and withhold votes from any bill that would add to ICE\u2019s already massive budget.<\/p>\n

Protesters also called on Schumer and Senate Democrats to oppose any DHS funding bill unless it strengthens restrictions on ICE and Border Patrol\u2019s ability to conduct dragnet arrest operations and target people based on race, language or accent, place of employment or location at the time of apprehension; ends Border Patrol deployment to U.S. cities and rejects its expanding mandate in immigration enforcement; and limits DHS\u2019 ability to shift funds within its budget.<\/p>\n

\"\"Members of Indivisible Brooklyn gather on Jan. 20 urging Democratic lawmakers to withhold votes on any spending bill that expands ICE\u2019s budget.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Activists lined Prospect Park West with banners and chants as part of a weeklong series of protests targeting ICE policy and budget priorities.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Demonstrators gather in front of Schumer\u2019s home.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann<\/p>\n

Indivisible Brooklyn organizer Lisa Raymond Tolan said Schumer must use his position to whip his caucus and block further ICE funding.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThey need Democratic votes in order to pass this budget. So he has leverage; he needs to use it,\u201d Raymond Tolan said. \u201cSo we\u2019re out here cold, early, and pretty much every day this week to tell him to fight, not fold.\u201d<\/p>\n

She described the situation in Minnesota as \u201castonishing and horrifying.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u201cTrump is unleashing his own Gestapo against American citizens and American Immigrants,\u201d Raymond Tolan said. \u201cI\u2019m hopeful that it\u2019s a watershed moment for those people who are not involved to see that this is in our backyard and happening to our neighbors, and it is not limited to just Minnesota.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fellow Indivisible Brooklyn activist Bryony Romer said the protest was driven by what she called a \u201cnational emergency.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u201cICE and Customs and Border Patrol have taken over Minneapolis. They\u2019re rounding people up; they\u2019re silencing protesters; they\u2019re tear-gassing babies, and they\u2019re murdering people,\u201d Romer said. \u201cWe have a moral obligation to stand out here and speak directly to one of the people who has the power to change the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Romer said she has not seen a similar sense of urgency from political leaders and expressed concern that Democrats were focused on regaining the House in the upcoming midterm elections.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think they understand [that] what\u2019s happening is part of an authoritarian playbook, the combination of which is not having free and fair elections,\u201d Romer said. \u201cThose of us who are out here protesting see that. We see the parallels to what has happened in other places that have become authoritarian countries that have lost their democracies, and we can\u2019t sit around and wait with them in the hopes that things just get better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Members of Indivisible Brooklyn gather on Jan. 20 urging Democratic lawmakers to withhold votes on any spending bill that expands ICE\u2019s budget.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Demonstrators brave cold weather on Prospect Park West, pressing Schumer to use his influence as Senate minority leader on immigration enforcement.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann<\/p>\n

Park Slope resident Wendy Sacks said she never imagined she would witness warrantless arrests of undocumented immigrants and U.S. citizens.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything this administration is doing is against our Constitution. They are arresting people without due process. They are killing people. They\u2019re disappearing our neighbors,\u201d Sacks said. \u201cI\u2019m concerned about both undocumented people here who are not getting due process, as well as citizens. This is something I have never seen before. I believe the Democrats have the power right now to stop this, not to give one more penny to ICE. ICE should be abolished, and we should have a system that\u2019s fair and that follows the Constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement, Schumer said it was imperative to continue demanding answers and holding ICE accountable.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat Trump\u2019s ICE is doing in our cities is despicable, and I have told him directly he should pull back this unwarranted and reckless operation,\u201d Schumer said. \u201cTerrorizing communities and targeting law-abiding immigrants doesn\u2019t make any of us safer \u2014 quite the opposite. The Trump administration doesn\u2019t have the credibility to answer questions about what is happening in Minnesota and beyond \u2014 I know it, and the public knows it. We won\u2019t rest until we get a full and impartial investigation into the killing of Renee Good and until this reckless operation is rolled back.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Indivisible Brooklyn members rallied outside Sen. Chuck Schumer\u2019s Park Slope home Jan. 20, urging the Senate Democratic leader…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":107290,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,30371,25936,9,24,12,370,63,8005,87,6986,48498,4402,1069,7130],"class_list":{"0":"post-107289","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brooklyn","8":"tag-brooklyn","9":"tag-brooklyn-headlines","10":"tag-brooklyn-news","11":"tag-ice-protest","12":"tag-indivisible-brooklyn","13":"tag-new-york","14":"tag-new-york-city","15":"tag-news","16":"tag-newsletter","17":"tag-nyc","18":"tag-park-slope","19":"tag-politics","20":"tag-protest","21":"tag-reneu00e9-good","22":"tag-senator-chuck-schumer","23":"tag-trump","24":"tag-u-s-immigration-and-customs-enforcement"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107289"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107289\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}