Protesters block garage at ICE Philadelphia office, crowds join nationwide walkout around city
Demonstrators blocked the Philadelphia ICE field office garage for about 90 minutes Tuesday morning, and called on more people to stand up against the agency's enforcement in the city.
A crowd of about 30 people gathered outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office at 8th and Cherry streets in Chinatown starting at 8 a.m. No ICE Philly, which organized the protest, said clergy and faith leaders were holding the vigil to keep ICE from "leaving the facility to terrorize our neighbors."
Rev. Hannah Capaldi of the Unitarian Society of Germantown accused ICE of "terrorizing" Philadelphia's immigrant community, and called on more protesters to help block the garage.
"We need more people every day willing to do this, to stand between the vehicles and the work they're doing to kidnap our neighbors," Capaldi said.
Around 9:30 a.m., police helped one vehicle back out of the garage. Officers used bikes to separate protesters from the car, which drove away without any incident.
The protest cleared out shortly afterward.
CBS News Philadelphia has reached out to ICE and the local Philadelphia office for comment on Tuesday's protest.
Earlier this month, demonstrators marched in Center City, and Democratic state Sen. Art Haywood led a vigil outside the Philadelphia ICE office in response to the deadly shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Several communities outside Philadelphia have recently passed measures limiting their partnerships with ICE. Haverford Township commissioners voted to bar local police from assisting federal immigration agents in enforcing civil immigration laws, and newly sworn-in Bucks County Sheriff Danny Ceisler terminated the department's agreement with ICE.
Philadelphia walkouts protest Trump administration policies
Around the city, protesters marched as part of the nationwide "Free American Walkout," which called on people to walk out of their jobs and schools to protest the Trump administration's immigration policies and ramped-up ICE crackdown.
A "Walkout For Our Freedoms" event took place at Girard College in the city's Fairmount neighborhood, where participants marched, chanted and carried protest signs.
At City Hall, Philadelphia high school students walked out of class and marched toward the ICE Philadelphia field office. Students said they wanted to draw attention to what they "see as growing attacks on civil liberties, immigrant communities and basic democratic rights."
