An “ICE Out for Good” protest was held in Moscow on Friday, Jan. 23, in solidarity with the Minnesota general strike. The strike was held in response to rising tensions with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minnesota and the murder of Renee Good on Jan. 7 by an ICE agent, identified as Jonathan Ross. agent identified as Jonathan Ross.
According to CNN International, more than 1,000 protests happened across the country from Los Angeles to Washington D.C., and down to El Paso .
The Moscow protest was held at the intersection of Farm Rd. and West A St. from 3 to 4 p.m. and was organized by Indivisible Moscow, who have previously organized a No Kings protest and a Labor Day protest.
“We are standing on this corner in solidarity with immigrants and with the people of Minnesota. We are standing against the normalization of what ICE is doing,” said Annette Bridges, a volunteer organizer with Indivisible Moscow.
Around 25 people showed up in 27-degree weather and held signs reading: “Skin color is not probable cause” and “ICE agents are criminals.”
Many of these individuals said they were past or current educators, scared citizens and allies.
“When I say I am concerned about citizens, I do include also my concern about those who may be here without documentation. I do not believe that human rights are exclusive to American citizens,” said Todd Bailey, a Moscow native and teacher at Moscow High School.
“What I hope [this protest] does is establish a historical record of dissent and also illustrate to those that pass us that there are those who are as dedicated as we are and therefore maybe some people who disagree with us will be forced to reconsider,” Bailey added.
The school teacher said he remains hopeful because without it, much of life would be impossible.
“It became personal the day Donald Trump was elected… This is my country I can’t feel any other way about it,” said Margaret Handley, who said she decided to protest due to her patriotism for her country.
There were no direct counter protesters but multiple vehicles who drove by the intersection rolled down their window to flip off or shout at the protesters.
Emily Morales can be reached at [email protected].