Amid freezing temperatures and snow flurries, protesters gathered on Pitt\u2019s campus oppose Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in Pittsburgh and across the U.S. on Thursday evening.<\/p>\n
Over 100 students and community members joined together on the corner of Forbes Avenue and Bigelow Boulevard for the \u201cICE Out of Pittsburgh\u201d protest. Multiple Pittsburgh organizations, including Sunrise Movement Pittsburgh<\/a> and Casa San Jose<\/a>, organized the protest.\u00a0<\/p>\n Since Trump retook office last year, ICE has expanded<\/a> both in budget and deployment, intending to detain and arrest people suspected of entering the country illegally<\/a>. Protests against ICE erupted across the nation<\/a> after U.S. citizen Renee Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent<\/a> on Jan. 7.\u00a0<\/p>\n Organizers set up a table with hot chocolate, handwarmers and snacks on the corner for protesters to take as temperatures dropped, and chants of \u201cSay it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here\u201d and \u201cMoney for jobs and education, not for mass incarceration\u201d began.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ilyas Khan, a member of Sunrise Movement Pittsburgh and a Carnegie Mellon University student, said the protest opposed the actions of ICE in Minneapolis, Pittsburgh and the nation as a whole.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe stand wholeheartedly against the fascist notion that America should only have one culture, should only have one nationality, should only have one language,\u201d Khan said. \u201cWe are a country of immigrants, and we\u2019re here for the Pittsburgh we all know is built on immigrants.\u201d<\/p>\n Khan said the organizers want to pressure Pennsylvania\u2019s elected officials to stop cooperating with ICE.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are here to pressure Mayor Corey O\u2019Connor to end all cooperation with ICE and make Pittsburgh officially a sanctuary city,\u201d Khan said. \u201cWe are here to pressure Sara Innamorato to work with Corey O\u2019Connor on ending all police cooperation within the county with ICE and to pressure Governor Josh Shapiro to end state cooperation with ICE and to make Pennsylvania a leader in America in protecting its immigrant citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n