19 arrested as hundreds protest ICE in Williston

WILLISTON – Hundreds of Vermonters protested against immigration detentions and conditions Sunday outside of the Department of Homeland Security’s Law Enforcement Support Center. The demonstration ended with a road block resulting in 19 arrests.

Demonstrators started gathering around 3 p.m. at Vermont Technical College and marched down to 188 Harvest Lane in Williston, a nondescript brick office building where Immigration and Customs Enforcement operates a tip line.

The march briefly slowed traffic as an estimated 750 people, according to organizers, waved signs calling for the reunification of migrant families, an end to immigration raids and deportations, and the closure of detention facilities that have been criticized for poor conditions.

Ashley Smith, one of the organizers of the event, said activists came together for an organizing meeting after a similar event on Church Street earlier this month. The group decided to plan another demonstration followed by civil disobedience.

Read more: https://vtdigger.org/2019/07/29/19-arrested-as-hundred-protest-ice-in-williston/