SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Local people were among tens of thousands nationwide protesting the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The protests follow the deadly shooting days ago involving an ICE agent and a Minneapolis protester.

Protesters in Scranton say things need to change during such volatile times. Chants against ICE echoed on Lackawanna County Courthouse Square Sunday afternoon.

The demonstration followed the events of January 7 in Minneapolis that led to an ICE agent shooting and killing 37-year-old Renee Good.

“And I’ve seen so many people say things like, ‘Well, she should have been home. She’s a mom.’ I’m a mom, and that’s why I’m here,” Dunmore resident Breeda Holmes said.

Holmes joined the dozens of protesters in order to, in her words, “create a world that’s better for our kids.”

“And we cannot accept and normalize what happened to Renee Good and let that happen again. We cannot let that happen,” Holmes added.

Many in the crowd blame immigration enforcement tactics for causing anxiety and fear across the country.

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“I think we’re really seeing, you know, something that’s an affront to human rights and civil liberties. I think we can have humane comprehensive immigration reform that doesn’t involve sending, you know, hundreds and even a thousand officers into communities,” Julie Schumacher Cohen from Scranton explained.

“There’s a lot of gray area. It’s not a black or white situation, and I think immigration reform has been spoken about and nothing has been done, and it’s time to reform the immigration process,” Scranton resident Barb O’Malley told 28/22 News.

This crowd says it is not right to use race as a reason to round up individuals.

“It is despicable what we are allowing to happen to our friends and neighbors. And it is despicable that we are saying that immigrants are criminals, just if they’re an immigrant, if they’re a different color, if they have an accent,” Holmes continued.

Holmes has a parting message in this time of tension.

“This is not the type of thing that we support in this country and certainly not the type of thing we support in northeastern Pennsylvania in a region that was built on the backs of immigrants,” said Holmes.

Organizers say their goal is to show support for broader discussions about immigration policy and to amplify their concerns in the area.

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