PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN/CNN) – An ICE facility in Oregon was closed Wednesday after protesters occupied the street in front of it.
The rallies have been going on since Sunday, and it doesn’t look like they’re going to let up anytime soon.
Lining the streets and growing in size, protesters along MacAdam stood in solidarity with immigrants outside of that ICE facility.
Protester Sofia Velasquez said, “Two years ago my dad was detained by ICE. He was on his way to work and they basically just arrested him on the spot.” For Velasquez, this is personal. She said with families being separated, children torn from their parents at the border, the impact and trauma that follows is all too real. “When that happened, actually I failed most of my classes,” she explained. “I wasn’t able to focus, I became very ill. So did my younger siblings, and it’s all in the effects of having somebody from your family being taken away from you.”
Citing safety, ICE closed the doors Thursday, releasing a statement that reads in part: “The ongoing protests have not only caused security concerns at the MacAdam office, but have also resulted in the cancellation of legal rights presentations for ICE detainees—the same people who the protesters are advocating for—which will have to be rescheduled for a future date.”
At Terry Schrunk Plaza in downtown, strong words from religious leaders as hundreds recognize World Refugee Day.
Alma Raya shared her story there. She’s a DACA recipient. Her message for families: stay strong and true to who you are. She said, “We have been told to be ashamed of our stories, to be ashamed of our background, to be ashamed of our status. And I think that it’s because of that a lot of people don’t know what we’re going through.”
The ICE facility has said that it will be closed Thursday as well.
Protesters said Portland is a sanctuary city and they won’t go home until ICE ceases operating there.
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