Charles Thursh (BLOCK CLUB CHICAGO) reports:
Since moving to the United States in 1979, tamalero Jose Flores never carried his papers with him — until last month.
“I started holding onto my papers when ICE came to Chicago [in September],” Flores said in an interview with Block Club. “My whole family has to have their papers on them — even my grandchildren. My daughter has to carry her son’s passport. He is 3 months old.”
On Thursday morning, four masked federal agents approached Flores and a group of several men sitting in chairs at the intersection of North Clark Street and West Lunt Avenue, according to Flores and local organizers. Officers arrested two of the men and took them into the back of an unmarked car, while Flores was able to walk free after he flashed his documentation to the agents.
Another tamalera, or tamale vendor, was arrested by federal agents Thursday outside of a nearby Walgreens, 7410 N. Clark St., organizers said. At least four people were arrested that day along Clark Street in Rogers Park, organizers said.
In response, around 400 Rogers Park neighbors rallied on Saturday near where the arrests were made to show support for at-risk neighbors and businesses suffering from the heightened immigration enforcement, according to organizers with Protect RP, a rapid response network that reports ICE activity.
This is not what people signed up for -- not even what most Trump voters signed up for. Chump's a con artist. They think they can talk their way out of anything. They think their lies will be swallowed without question. If this were someone else, they'd be re-adjusting course. But con artists think they can get away with it forever. They don't change course until the final moment when everything comes crashing down.
US House Rep Jim Jordan insists ICE is doing God's work. Was Jim doing God's work when he watched the college boys locker room? Was he doing God's business when he looked the other way as the team doctor was in the showers and walking around the locker room with an erection? Was Jim doing God's work when he mocked young men who complained about how the team doctor was always touching their cocks and balls?
In what world are we supposed to believe that Jim can do anything but bear false witness?
Saying that no human is illegal, hundreds of Catholic priests, nuns and lay people led a march from a Catholic church in Maywood to the ICE detention center in Broadview.
"We came out in great strength today," Fr. David Inczauskis of the Coaltition for Spiritual and Public Leadership said. "Catholics from all around Chicagoland have come out to support our sisters and brothers detained here."
Their goal – not to create chaos – but to share communion with the detainees locked inside the Broadview facility.
"Very clearly there are no strangers. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ," a priest said.
After a series of prayers, a contingent of priests moved towards the entrance to the ICE facility, but were stopped by a line of Illinois State Police. For several minutes, the priests explained what they wanted to do. A trooper made a call inside on their behalf but was told no.
"They called and they said this was the response. I respect the state police for what they can do and all that. But that's basically it. They're working through a middleman who refused to even talk to us. Which says something in itself," a priest said.
Natalie Martinez, Jorge DeSantiago and NBC Chicago Staff add what happened today at Chicago's St. Jerome Church;
Telemundo Chicago obtained cell phone video from a parishioner inside the church at the 8 a.m. mass. The priest gave an unexpected warning to parishioners, urging them to leave cautiously because immigration officers were reportedly in the area.
"I feel badly for them," Julie said. "They were inside, scared to come out."
Witnesses said after the warning, several neighbors showed up and formed a human chain outside the church to guide parishioners home. NBC Chicago found more organizers doing the same for the beginning of the 6 p.m. mass, which was lightly attended.
You're not in safe at church? How is this America? Chump's going to hell. You don't get to put ICE goons outside a church to destroy lives and get rewarded in the after life.
I was still groggy, drinking my morning tea, when my phone started buzzing with alerts about ICE hitting a corner within walking distance of my home. At first, it was unclear if they had taken a street vendor who was familiar to many of us. Soon, we learned that the vendor was still there, but that two other neighbors had been seized.
That series of texts would soon activate a neighborhood.
I left my apartment on foot, in the clothes I had slept in, and made my way up Clark Street, watching for any signs of ICE. When I saw a suspicious vehicle, I relayed what I’d seen through neighborhood channels that coordinate ICE watch activity. When I reached the intersection of Clark and Lunt, where the abductions had occurred, other neighbors, including some old friends of mine, were already assembling and taking directions from local organizers who had been preparing for this moment for months.
While some parts of Chicago have been targeted relentlessly during the recent federal onslaught known as “Operation Midway Blitz,” Rogers Park had seen more scattered reports of ICE activity—until Thursday, when their presence was confirmed at the start of the day with immigration arrests, and continually reported throughout the morning and afternoon. Neighbors fanned out, searching streets and alleyways for any sign of ICE activity, following up on reports, and communicating what we found. Before long, there were dozens, and then hundreds of people in the streets, watching and responding.
“Clark Street was flooded with people,” Daniel*, an activist with Protect RP, told me. “We had over 200 people on the streets. That was power.” Daniel noted that many people left work early, or “dropped whatever they were doing” to join the effort.
Longtime ICE watchers wore bright orange whistles around their necks, which are used to signal the presence of ICE. Newcomers received whistles from volunteers distributing them in the streets, making the crowds of ICE watchers a clear presence. The corridor of businesses on Clark Street, where many immigrants shop and work, was clearly defended by this mass presence.
This is not our country. Chump is attempting to turn the USA into a s**thole country.. All he ever learned was to strip the wheels and leave the car up on blocks.
He did it with companies and he's doing it with this country.
The following sites updated:
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