About 25 members of Indivisible Brooklyn, an all-volunteer grassroots group that organizes actions and events to promote justice and hold elected officials accountable, braved freezing temperatures on Jan. 20 to rally outside Sen. Chuck Schumer’s home in Park Slope.
The group is calling on Schumer to use his leverage as Senate minority leader to oppose any appropriations bill that includes increased funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Border Patrol when the Senate returns to session on Jan. 26.
The rally was part of a weeklong, daily protest outside Schumer’s home and office urging him to use the upcoming funding deadline to rein in ICE. It comes amid a surge in warrantless raids and arrests of undocumented immigrants and U.S. citizens, as well as the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good on Jan. 7 in Minneapolis by ICE agent Jonathan Ross as Good was attempting to drive away from a protest.
Good’s death sparked mass anti-ICE demonstrations in Minnesota and across the country. The protests have often been met with what organizers describe as excessive force by ICE agents, including the use of pepper spray and arrests. Nearly 3,000 ICE agents are currently deployed to the Minneapolis region, and on Jan. 19, the Pentagon announced that 1,500 troops were preparing for a possible deployment to Minnesota.
An appropriations bill to continue funding the Department of Homeland Security is due Jan. 30. Protesters held signs reading “Will Chuck Fight?” and “No ICE,” demanding that Schumer use his power as Senate Democratic caucus leader to end what they described as reckless immigration raids and withhold votes from any bill that would add to ICE’s already massive budget.
Protesters also called on Schumer and Senate Democrats to oppose any DHS funding bill unless it strengthens restrictions on ICE and Border Patrol’s ability to conduct dragnet arrest operations and target people based on race, language or accent, place of employment or location at the time of apprehension; ends Border Patrol deployment to U.S. cities and rejects its expanding mandate in immigration enforcement; and limits DHS’ ability to shift funds within its budget.
Indivisible Brooklyn organizer Lisa Raymond Tolan said Schumer must use his position to whip his caucus and block further ICE funding.
“They need Democratic votes in order to pass this budget. So he has leverage; he needs to use it,” Raymond Tolan said. “So we’re out here cold, early, and pretty much every day this week to tell him to fight, not fold.”
She described the situation in Minnesota as “astonishing and horrifying.”
“Trump is unleashing his own Gestapo against American citizens and American Immigrants,” Raymond Tolan said. “I’m hopeful that it’s a watershed moment for those people who are not involved to see that this is in our backyard and happening to our neighbors, and it is not limited to just Minnesota.”
Fellow Indivisible Brooklyn activist Bryony Romer said the protest was driven by what she called a “national emergency.”
“ICE and Customs and Border Patrol have taken over Minneapolis. They’re rounding people up; they’re silencing protesters; they’re tear-gassing babies, and they’re murdering people,” Romer said. “We have a moral obligation to stand out here and speak directly to one of the people who has the power to change the situation.”
Romer said she has not seen a similar sense of urgency from political leaders and expressed concern that Democrats were focused on regaining the House in the upcoming midterm elections.
“I don’t think they understand [that] what’s happening is part of an authoritarian playbook, the combination of which is not having free and fair elections,” Romer said. “Those of us who are out here protesting see that. We see the parallels to what has happened in other places that have become authoritarian countries that have lost their democracies, and we can’t sit around and wait with them in the hopes that things just get better.”
Park Slope resident Wendy Sacks said she never imagined she would witness warrantless arrests of undocumented immigrants and U.S. citizens.
“Everything this administration is doing is against our Constitution. They are arresting people without due process. They are killing people. They’re disappearing our neighbors,” Sacks said. “I’m concerned about both undocumented people here who are not getting due process, as well as citizens. This is something I have never seen before. I believe the Democrats have the power right now to stop this, not to give one more penny to ICE. ICE should be abolished, and we should have a system that’s fair and that follows the Constitution.”
In a statement, Schumer said it was imperative to continue demanding answers and holding ICE accountable.
“What Trump’s ICE is doing in our cities is despicable, and I have told him directly he should pull back this unwarranted and reckless operation,” Schumer said. “Terrorizing communities and targeting law-abiding immigrants doesn’t make any of us safer — quite the opposite. The Trump administration doesn’t have the credibility to answer questions about what is happening in Minnesota and beyond — I know it, and the public knows it. We won’t rest until we get a full and impartial investigation into the killing of Renee Good and until this reckless operation is rolled back.”
