About a hundred people protested at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in Fairfax County, Va. today, saying that the agency inflicts violence on immigrant families and communities. They demanded that Members of Congress cut off funding for ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and revert the money back to their communities.
They also accused Delegate Alfonso Lopez, a state elected official, of profiting off of a Virginia detention center and charged that certain Virginia counties were collaborating with ICE in the harassment and incarceration of immigrants.
This protest follows many others around the country at ICE facilities. Intense outrage has erupted since it was revealed that children have been ripped from their parents at borders and held separately from them as part of the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy.
The office complex’s plaza had already been cordoned off well before any protesters arrived. About 20 officers were stationed outside the buildings surveying the protest on the public sidewalk below and took pictures of protesters and members of the press. After the demonstration had concluded, six plainclothes officers sat on the patio of a nearby local restaurant and took pictures of departing protesters and members of the press.
The protest was organized by La ColectiVa, Justice for Muslims Collective, SURJ Northern Virginia, NAKASEC, No Justice No Pride, Sanctuary DMV and Metro D.C. Democratic Socialists of America.
