Anti-ICE demonstrators plan to gather in four towns and cities across Connecticut on Friday afternoon, in solidarity with Minnesotans participating in a general strike there following weeks of harsh tactics by immigration officials.
The demonstrations are planned for 4 p.m. in Willimantic, Bridgeport, New Haven, and at the state Capitol in Hartford.
The rallies are being planned by a coalition of dozens of organizations, including the Connecticut Democratic Socialists of America, Make the Road Connecticut, the Connecticut AFL-CIO, SEIU 1199NE, and SEIU 32BJ.
The demonstrations come after a surge in immigration enforcement actions have left Minnesotans both on edge and defiant. On Jan. 7, ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed unarmed mother Renee Good. ICE agents have recently detained children, including the high-profile case of 5-year-old Liam Ramos. Minnesota Public Radio reports violence by immigration officials has “become a common sight” amid the surge.
Connecticut U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, has compared ICE tactics to those of the Nazi Gestapo. Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) calls ICE an “agency that is murdering young mothers, threatening peaceful protestors with assault rifles, and kidnapping elderly Americans out of their homes.”
This story will be updated.
