Anti-ICE protesters in Pittsburgh took their message to the streets of Oakland Thursday night. “We are asking our local elected, our state elected to work towards abolishing ICE,” said Ilyas Khan, a member of Sunrise Movement Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh police officers blocked traffic as the protesters made their way down Forbes Avenue – marching, chanting, and carrying signs. They asked leaders at the city, county, and state levels to end cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and to prosecute the federal agency. “I have friends who are scared to go out without their passports. Can you imagine? Living like that in a city like this, where community is so integral,” Khan said. Outside of Pittsburgh, tensions in Minneapolis have intensified in the last week after an immigration agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good as she partially blocked a street with her SUV. On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security said a federal officer shot a man in the leg after he allegedly assaulted the agent with a shovel and broom handle. “It’s just wrong, so we’re here to take a stand,” Brendan Wissinger said about ICE activity.Back in Oakland, protesters urged their neighbors to know their rights. “The biggest thing is not to just encourage a single individual to keep their door shut or anything like that, but to encourage whole communities to come together to protect each other,” Khan said. “That means knowing how to engage with ICE at the door, knowing how to warn community members if ICE is performing violent actions in a neighborhood, and knowing best practice for everyone, especially people who are vulnerable.”Organizers said they plan to hold more protests in the future. “We really all just need to make an effort to come up here and be here for our neighbors, regardless, talk to people in your neighborhood, talk to your workers, and tell them to talk to people,” said Ixchel Sulub.
PITTSBURGH —
Anti-ICE protesters in Pittsburgh took their message to the streets of Oakland Thursday night.
“We are asking our local elected, our state elected to work towards abolishing ICE,” said Ilyas Khan, a member of Sunrise Movement Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh police officers blocked traffic as the protesters made their way down Forbes Avenue – marching, chanting, and carrying signs.
They asked leaders at the city, county, and state levels to end cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and to prosecute the federal agency.
“I have friends who are scared to go out without their passports. Can you imagine? Living like that in a city like this, where community is so integral,” Khan said.
Outside of Pittsburgh, tensions in Minneapolis have intensified in the last week after an immigration agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good as she partially blocked a street with her SUV.
On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security said a federal officer shot a man in the leg after he allegedly assaulted the agent with a shovel and broom handle.
“It’s just wrong, so we’re here to take a stand,” Brendan Wissinger said about ICE activity.
Back in Oakland, protesters urged their neighbors to know their rights.
“The biggest thing is not to just encourage a single individual to keep their door shut or anything like that, but to encourage whole communities to come together to protect each other,” Khan said. “That means knowing how to engage with ICE at the door, knowing how to warn community members if ICE is performing violent actions in a neighborhood, and knowing best practice for everyone, especially people who are vulnerable.”
Organizers said they plan to hold more protests in the future.
“We really all just need to make an effort to come up here and be here for our neighbors, regardless, talk to people in your neighborhood, talk to your workers, and tell them to talk to people,” said Ixchel Sulub.