A Jewish group blocked the entrance to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) headquarters in Washington, D.C., as part of a protest against the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
Hundreds of protesters, including Jewish people, migrants and other supporters, joined Never Again Action in marching from the National Mall to the agency’s headquarters in sweltering heat, according to live tweets from BuzzFeed News’s Julia Reinstein. The group is protesting the conditions at migrant detention centers on the southern border and the separation of migrant families, as well as calling for an end to ICE.
{mosads} Protesters chanted “Never again means now” and “Abolish ICE” during their march and as they stood with their arms linked in front of the headquarters, blocking the street, parking lot and front doors, according to one tweet from participant Sophie Ellman-Golan.
Another protester claimed that an ICE employee called her “a little bitch” because she was holding a sign that said “ICE KKKOPS NAZIS ALL THE SAME ABOLISH THEM ALL.” Ellman-Golan tweeted a photo of the employee and alleged he also tried to tell protesters his grandchildren are Jewish.
The protest called on leaders on both sides of the aisle to address immigration reform, with demonstrators specifically calling out the Trump administration and carrying a banner aimed at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), reading “Pelosi never again is now.”
Police also arrived at the protest, and organizers told Reinstein 15 people were arrested when they entered ICE’s building. More arrests are expected.
The Hill has reached out to ICE for comment.