Getty Protestors In Chicago Rally Against Mass Detention Of Undocumented Immigrants
Hundreds of thousands of Americans took to the streets in around 700 American cities on Saturday, in nationwide protests calling for families separated at the US-Mexico border to be reunited. Left-leaning groups, like the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, Move On and the Women’s March, planned the march together. Protesters marched in spite of record-high temperatures in many cities; in New York City, over 15,000 people marched in spite of temperatures in the mid-90s.
Protests were largely peaceful. But in Boston, Portland, and Dallas, protesters clashed with police. In Portland, a right-wing protest led to a huge street brawl. Across the country, dozens of arrests took place.
In Los Angeles, John Legend performed a new song, “Preach,” for the crowds of protesters. In Washington DC, Diane Guerrero, the star of Orange is the New Black, cried as she told the crowd about her parents being deported to Colombia when she was a teenager. Singer Alicia Keys and actress America Ferrera read letters from families who have been separated from children.
In New Jersey, protesters marched as close as they could get to Trump’s golf course at Bedminster. And in Chicago, Daley Square wsa packed with demonstrators.
The protests followed days of demonstrations in other cities around the country. Many of the protesters were arrested and are
Here’s what you need to know.
1. 20 People Were Arrested in Boston After Trying to Occupy an ICE Jail
Police in Boston arrested 20 people at the steps of the South Bay House of Correction last night where ICE houses illegal migrants. A group of about 100 protesters was filling the street in front of the jailhouse, and the group ws gradually inching up the steps leading to the building. As the protesters got close to the top step, police warned them not to go any further. Those who stepped up to the top step were arrested.
Protester tweeted pictures of the protesters.
https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&q=boston%20ice%20arrested&src=typd
The crowd of demonstrators sang as police arrested the protesters.
Meanwhile, at Boston Common, Massachussetts senator Elizabeth Warren told a crowd of protesters that ICE should be permanently abolished.
Warren said, “We need to rebuild our immigration system from top to bottom, starting by replacing ICE with something that reflects our morality.”
2. In Dallas, Police Locked Up An Anti-ICE Protester Who Hit a Cop on the Nose
https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&vertical=default&q=ice%20protest%20arrests&src=typd
Police pulled up to the ICE facility on Saturday morning. Protesters had started to block lanes of the service road to I-35E. The police had originally let protesters take up one lane for their march, but the demonstrators moved into the other two remaining lanes, taking up the entire southbound service road.
Police asked the protesters to move, and most did. One protester, angry, hit a police officer on the nose, and at least four others refused to get out of the lane. Police arrested 5 people.
3. In Portland, Right-Wing Protesters Clashed Violently with Antifa
Shocking moment flash-bang grenade is thrown into right-wing Patriot Prayer rally igniting violent clashes with Antifa in Portland
A right-wing group called Patriot Prayer organized a protest in downtown Portland, Oregon on Saturday. Around 100 people took part in the Patriot Prayer “freedom rally” at Terry Schrunk Plaza. Also on Saturday morning, anti-ICE protesters organized a demonstration.
The event soon turned into a huge brawl. Fox News captured footage of protesters on both sides punching each other and knocking each other down to the ground.
Police had originally given Patriot Prayer a permit for the protest, but revoked it and said the protest had turned into a brawl. “We seized numerous weapons early on, and interceded and separated people when necessary. However, once projectiles, such as fireworks, eggs, rocks, bottles and construction equipment were thrown and people were injured, we ordered people to disperse,” said Deputy Chief Bob Day.
Police arrested four people during the protest. However, local media reported that none of the arrests were directly related to the protest. The four people arrested were detained because of previous investigations.
Tusitala “Tiny” Toese, 22, and Donovon Flippo, 23, were arrested upon arriving at Terry Schrunk Plaza for an alleged assault in Portland earlier in the month.
Luiz Marquez, 46, was arrested on charges of theft and assault for a June 3 protest
And Matthew Braddock, 37, was arrested on charges of robbery and assault for an investigation that began May 31.
Eyewitnesses gave conflicting accounts. Some said on twitter that “flash grenades” were being thrown.
The New York Post reported that people in the crowd were lighting firecrackers. They said police arrested at least two people.
There have been dozens of arrests and accusations of police brutality in Portland over the past week, as anti-ICE protesters clashed with police.
3. Police in Philadelphia Arrest an 85 Year Old Rabbi Outside an ICE Facility in Philadelphia
On Friday, Rabbi Arthur Waskow was one of seven people detained for blocking access to an ICE facility in Philadelphia.
The 85 year old Waskow was part of a group calling themselves the “Old Farts” who stood in front of the ICE center for about 2 hours before the police detained them. They were arrested for “failing to disperse”. Police released the protesters almost immmediately.
People took to Twitter to protest the fragile 85 year old’s arrest in handcuffs.
Elsewhere in Philadelphia, the protest looked almost like a carnival, as protesters put on colorful costumes.
5. Protesters Gathered Outside of Trump’s Golf Course in New Jersey
Scores of people amassed in New Jersey on Saturday to protest the administration’s separation of migrant families at the border as President Trump headed to his golf club in Bedminster.
Protesters gathered on Saturday morning outside of Trump’s golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey. Activists took to Twitter on Saturday to note that even as protesters were demonstraiting across the country, Trump had “run” to his private golf club in New Jersey.
Anti-ICE protesters announced that they would “find” the president and protest outside his golf club.
Separately in New Jersey, thousands of people protested ICE policies at rallies in Asbury Park, Red Bank, and Toms River. Senator Bob Menendez spoke to a crowd, saying, “We have seen and heard the heart-wrenching photos of children in cage-like detention centers and we have heard the heart-wrenching sounds of children crying out for their parents,” said Menendez. “And we have heard the heartless excuses of a president who has no moral compass, but in America we have a moral compass.”
And Senator Corey Booker told the crowd, “This is no time to be a spectator. Each and every one of us must get on the field.”