ICE Raids In NYC: Bushwick Group Organizes Protest

BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN — The Bushwick-based group Make the Road New York is organizing a protest against national ICE raids in front of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Building in Manhattan on Thursday evening. Make the Road New York, along with more than a dozen other NYC activist groups, demands that ICE free recipient of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals protections Daniel Ramirez Medina, who was detained in Seattle, as well as hundreds of others who were recently arrested by immigration officials.

"This past week there have been hundreds of arrests by ICE, spreading fear and panic throughout our communities all over the country," the group wrote on its Facebook event for the protest.

Over the past week, ICE has arrested 41 people across NYC, the agency confirmed on Tuesday.

It is unclear whether the latest ICE raids, in which there were more than 680 arrests nationally in five days, were more aggressive than they were under President Barack Obama, or whether ICE's strategy is related to President Donald Trump's stance on immigration.

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said in a statement Monday that the raids were "routine," and that they targeted convicted criminals, gang members, people who were under final removal orders from judges and immigrants who re-entered the country after being deported. Kelly said 75 percent of the 680 arrests were "criminal aliens."

But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in a statement on Monday said he was "troubled by the lack of transparency and potential due process violations surrounding ICE's most recent enforcement actions." The New York state senator demanded to know the location of the raids and details about the people who were arrested.

Patch has reached out to Make the Road New York for information on how each Brooklyn neighborhood has been impacted by the raids. We will update when we hear back.

Make the Road New York said it is building up a network of allies, and it encourages supporters to text "Road" to 52886 to get involved. The group's headquarters is located in Bushwick at 301 Grove St.

Thursday's protest begins at 5 p.m. outside of 201 Varick St. in Manhattan.

Photo via Make the Road New York Facebook