Around 50 protesters gathered outside the Atlanta Immigration Court late Sunday to demonstrate against Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests and deportations across Georgia.
The demonstration was loosely organized, with no clear leadership or coordination. Many attendees wore medical masks, keffiyehs, and other face coverings. Participants held signs with slogans supporting immigrant rights and calling for the abolition of ICE in the United States.
Credit: Zaire Breedlove
Credit: Zaire Breedlove
Approximately 40 officers from the Atlanta Police Department and the Department of Homeland Security were stationed outside the Immigration Court, lining the gates. No arrests were made, and interactions between police and protesters were minimal.
Protester Tom Smith said immigrants are vital contributors to the United States and criticized the country’s current immigration laws and enforcement practices as unjust and corrupt.
“The United States has gone and messed up all these countries in Latin America and Central America, through the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and neoliberal policy backing right wing coups and overthrowing socialists’ governments,” he said. “So, of course, people are going to move to the United States.”
Protesters took turns speaking into a microphone, voicing their frustration over the treatment of undocumented individuals and people of color by law enforcement and the justice system.
The protest followed Saturday’s large “No Kings” demonstrations in Atlanta and around the nation against President Donald Trump. Separately, at least eight people were arrested at an immigration protest Saturday on Chamblee Tucker Road. Officers deployed tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Credit: Zaire Breedlove
Credit: Zaire Breedlove
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