While our politicians in Congress have done little beyond issue regretful statements about the treatment of detained immigrants and the 2,000 or so children who have been torn away from their parents and scattered around the country by the Department of Homeland Security, the American people are rising to the occasion with inspiring displays of direct action against our nation’s ethnic cleansing apparatus.
Officials arriving at the Justice Department this morning found an unwelcome surprise – hundreds upon hundreds of protestors, most of them women, demanding an end to the incarceration of immigrant families in privately run concentration camps and for the lost children to be reunited with their families:
Thousands of women and allies have joined @womensmarch in the streets of Washington D.C. to launch #WomenDisobey to commit a mass act of civil disobedience to say #EndFamilyDetention and #AbolishICE pic.twitter.com/lZuM8UV6xQ
— Kyle O'Leary (@tkocreative) June 28, 2018
They even publicly mocked the First Lady by chanting “WE CARE,” a reference to the deeply insensitive jacket that Melania Trump wore to the visit immigrant kids in detention centers last week.
Powerful.
100s of women sitting in & nonviolently shutting down entrance to the Dept of Justice to #EndFamilyDetention #EndFamilySeparation & #AbolishICE.
They are chanting “We Care!” & they represent America. Do you hear @FLOTUS? @realDonaldTrump?#WomenDisobey @womensmarch pic.twitter.com/S2HBsDw4Iu
— Kai Newkirk (@kai_newkirk) June 28, 2018
On the other side of the country, #OccupyICE protestors prepared to clash with armored Department of Homeland Security goons who were intent on breaking through the protestor blockade and allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials to return to their offices and continue their despicable work.
Nine arrests were made and the blockade was dismantled as the protestors were forced to submit to machine-gun wielding stormtroopers, though their resolve never wavered and a response vigil is already being organized.
Say hello to your local #gestapo. #OccupyICEPDX pic.twitter.com/LWqyYVALHK
— Andrew Sorg (@andrewsorg) June 28, 2018
I can only describe this cop behind the police line as menacing. #OccupyICEPDX pic.twitter.com/qmWe9rLo04
— PDX Mike Bivins (@itsmikebivins) June 28, 2018
Each passing week sees more and more displays of public disobedience, many organized by local progressive, antifascist, and democratic socialist groups. Since Congress seems intent on doing everything they can to whitewash, excuse, and ignore the excesses of the Trump administration, it’s up to us – the regular people – to take a stand for what’s right.