Hundreds Protest I.C.E. and Call on Them to Stop Racist Practices

On 21 May 2012, the last day of protest action during the NATO summit, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Office (I.C.E.) to send I.C.E. a message: stop the construction of an immigration detention center in Crete, Illinois!

Representative Jesse L. Jackson Jr.’s office had planned to facilitate a public town hall meeting on Monday to hear the concerns of Illinois constituents opposed to the building of a prison for undocumented people in Crete, Illinois. A Press Release from Representative Jackson Jr.’s office states that the public meeting was postponed due to “security concerns raised by NATO and outside protesters who are threatening to come to Crete.”

Moratorium for Deportations a Chicago-based group created to initiate dialogue, share information and coordinate efforts to get from President Obama an Executive Order for a Moratorium on Deportation, was one of a few organizations planning to attend the public town hall meeting. Rozalinda Borcila, a member of the group, says, “Representative Jackson and I.C.E. officials have stated this meeting represents their intentions to listen to people’s concerns and to hear public input. However, we don’t recognize the legitimacy of these claims, and I don’t think that this meeting would have represented an open public-dialogue about the issue of detention. So, we announced our intentions to participate in the meeting in the spirit of dissent and we are surprised by the postponement of the meeting, and we feel that Representative Jackson’s statement equate dissent with security threats.”

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