WASHINGTON — Hundreds of people took part in a protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Northwest D.C. Monday night.
The event, which was organized by the group Sanctuary DMV and promoted on Facebook, began at the Columbia Heights Civic Plaza at 14th Street and Park Road before morphing into a march.
The march briefly shut down traffic in the area.
Anti-ICE protesters in Columbia Heights have started marching, leaving the civic plaza at 14th & Park & filling Park Rd. @WTOP @WTOPtraffic pic.twitter.com/KptlQUqTXf
— Michelle Basch (@mbaschWTOP) July 16, 2018
The protest was a response to reports that a number of immigrants in the U.S. illegally were arrested in various parts of the District over several days last week, including Columbia Heights.
Sanctuary DMV’s Ben Beachy said about 15 people — maybe more — were picked up by ICE.
“I talked with a number of the family members. Some of these people were fleeing death threats in Honduras or El Salvador. Some of them were fleeing poverty in Mexico,” Beachy said.
“I met somebody on Sunday whose fiance was part of this action last week, and we’re helping her get him some legal representation,” said D.C. Council member Brianne Nadeau, who represents Ward 1 which includes Columbia Heights.
WTOP reached out to ICE, and although the agency did not provide any specific details about what happened in the District last week, spokesperson Justine Whelan gave us the following written statement:
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers routinely conduct targeted enforcement actions nationwide in furtherance of our nation’s laws and public safety. ICE does not conduct raids or target individuals indiscriminately. While ICE does not exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement, ICE continues to focus its limited resources first and foremost on those who pose a threat to the safety of the American public.”
