Thousands flood Civic Plaza to protest ICE operations

Thousands of immigrant rights activists gathered at Civic Plaza Friday afternoon as part of a coordinated national protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations following recent fatal shootings during federal enforcement actions.

The demonstration, which drew roughly 5,000 people by mid-afternoon, was part of the National Shutdown movement that called for participants across the country to skip work, school and shopping to protest what organizers described as ICE’s “reign of terror.”

“The people of the Twin Cities have shown the way for the whole country – to stop ICE’s reign of terror, we need to SHUT IT DOWN,” organizers wrote on the campaign website ahead of Friday’s action. “On Friday, January 30, join a nationwide day of no school, no work and no shopping.”

The peaceful protest followed mounting tensions in New Mexico over federal immigration enforcement. Recent shootings of protesters by federal agents have intensified local opposition to ICE operations.

Organizers fired up the crowd with chants and slogans, some protestors gathered on the corner to sing songs and play guitar. A person dressed as snowman and wearing a sign that read “Terrorist” was rolling skating through the plaza as others held signs and came together to protest ICE’s actions in Minneapolis.

“These are unprecedented times we’re living in and this is probably the seventh protest the last week and a half that I’ve been at that’s that’s a good sign,” Albuquerque City Councilor Joaquin Baca said. “The fact that people keep showing up and the crowds keep getting bigger, this represents us and I’m very proud of us.”

Ahead of the protest, Albuquerque City Hall and other downtown city offices were closed in anticipation of a big crowd descending on the area. Bernalillo County also closed its headquarters at Alvardo Square.

“The entire country is shocked and outraged at the brutal killings of Alex Pretti, Renee Good, Silverio Villegas González, and Keith Porter Jr. by federal agents,” organizers said in a statement. “While Trump and other right wing politicians are slandering them as ‘terrorists’, the video evidence makes it clear beyond all doubt: they were gunned down in broad daylight simply for exercising their First Amendment right to protest mass deportation.”

The Albuquerque event was co-sponsored by Indivisible Albuquerque, Southwest Solidarity Network, Party for Socialism and Liberation, New Mexico Dream Team and People’s Housing Project, among other groups.

Megan MacBain, protesting alongside her husband, said the event is a necessary response to Trump administration policies that are putting constitutional rights at risk.

“I think what he’s doing is inhumane, it’s horrible and it’s embarrassing on the world stage,” she said.

Donald Gallegos of the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association said he and others in the union have taken to carrying their passports as proof of citizenship, which he would never have thought was needed.

The demonstration came amid escalating local resistance to federal immigration enforcement. Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller signed an executive order in July reaffirming the city as a refuge and creating a verification system for residents to confirm whether ICE agents are operating in their neighborhoods.

Keller wasn’t seen at the protest, but one of his opponents in the November election, Alex Uballez, was holding court in the crowd.

““It’s great to see so many people out in the community,” Uballez said. “I think in moments of darkness and desperation, the strongest thing that we have are the bonds to each other. One of the lessons that we have in Minneapolis is that it’s not just mutual defense and whistles and being in the streets, it’s the communities they formed, block to block to support that effort, right? So what they taught us, we learned from them is it’s blocks coming together and having potlucks, people getting to know their neighbors and friends, and building the community that we’re losing to the internet, that we’re losing to despair, and using that to build the resilience we need to survive.”

Last week, Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman warned ICE officials that certain detention practices could result in criminal prosecution under state law. Bregman cited New Mexico’s false imprisonment statute in a letter to an ICE assistant field office director, stating that detentions without proper warrants or probable cause “may be subject to prosecution.”

The New Mexico Legislature is also considering House Bill 9, which would prohibit local governments from contracting with the federal government to operate immigration detention facilities.

New Mexico’s congressional delegation has joined the opposition to current enforcement practices. U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján pledged this week to vote against federal funding bills that include ICE appropriations without additional oversight and accountability measures. Although, xxxxxx Thursday as Democrats voted to avoid a government shutdown.

Heinrich stated he would not support funding “the lawlessness of DHS, not by itself and not packaged with other funding bills.”

Albuquerque has seen significant immigration-related protests in recent months. Approximately 2,000 people marched through downtown in June to protest ICE operations and federal immigration policies.

Friday’s national action was endorsed by hundreds of organizations across the country, including student groups at universities, labor unions, immigrant rights organizations and faith communities.