Anti-ICE protest unites community in Atlanta

Anti-ICE protests took place across the country on Friday, January 23. The day was scheduled as a national day of truth and freedom. In downtown Atlanta, in front of the Atlanta ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Field Office on Ted Turner Drive, a protest included community organizers, an immigration lawyer, college students, and union workers.

The “Atlanta Ice Out” took place at 5 p.m., as temperatures began to drop on the eve of an approaching cold front, and an ice storm was expected on Saturday. The sidewalk outside of the ICE field office was packed with protestors holding anti-ICE signs, Black Lives Matter flags, and anti-Trump banners. Some of the protestors carried small children on their shoulders. On several occasions, profanity was used to express feelings about the current situation surrounding ICE raids, arrests, and, in one case, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the death of an American citizen.

In between chants of “ICE, KKK. Fascists, fascists, go away” and “Say it loud. Say it clear. Immigrants are welcome here,” Dr. Porchse Mitchell-Miller, wearing a boot on her left foot, grabbed a megaphone and addressed the crowd of several dozen people.

“We need each other in this fight. They are coming for everybody,” Mitchell-Miller said.

Along with Mitchell-Miller, local activist and organizer Micah McClure addressed the crowd, which continued to grow as the evening sun faded and the night grew colder.

“We want to see change,” McClure said. “The Blackman’s fight is the white man’s fight. The Caribbean man’s fight is the Black woman’s fight. The immigrant’s fight is the white woman’s fight.”

A young man named Seven stepped to the megaphone next. He was there representing the Union of Southern Service Workers and looked nervous as he began to speak. Seven said there were powers in numbers, and protests like these force change to happen.

“We defeated Jim Crow, and we can do the same with ICE,” Seven said.

A Kennesaw State University student, an immigration lawyer, and the wife of a man who was arrested by ICE and sent to Africa all took turns sharing their stories. Hours after the protest began, the crowd grew so large that people were asked to stand across the street.

There are more protests planned in Atlanta, and Mitchell-Miller said they need to be as well-attended as this one was.

“We need to stop protesting in silos,” she said.

A chant began in Spanish and had to be translated for any non-Spanish-speaking people. “The working class knows no borders” was repeated by the crowd as the protest went on.

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