Incidents in New York, Chicago and Boston have intensified protests against Trump’s immigration crackdown. One ICE agent has been suspended from duty.
Protests in US cities over harsh actions by immigration agents
In New York, Chicago and Boston, there have been cases of harsh treatment of migrants and their families by ICE agents.
In a New York courthouse, an officer pushed a woman to the floor when she tried to prevent the arrest of a man. Video of the incident was published by ProPublica. The woman, who is seeking asylum in the US, was injured, and the officer was suspended from duty after the Department of Homeland Security responded.
In Boston, another woman who was escorting a relative to court was detained after agents smashed the windows of a pickup truck and dragged the man out. She suffered scratches and aggravation of a chronic back injury that required hospitalization. Witnesses allege discrimination against Hispanics.
Chicago standoff
In suburban Chicago, protesters gathered outside an immigration detention center in Broadway, demanding its closure. ICE used tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse them. Clergy and activists called the action excessive, while DHS said more than 200 “trespassers” tried to block access to the facility.
Death and growing protests
Tensions have risen after the killing of Mexican citizen Silverio Villegas Gonzalez in suburban Chicago by an ICE agent during a stop. Despite claims of a “life-threatening” incident, the agent can be heard on bodycam video saying his injuries were “not serious.”
In parallel, this week, an attack on an ICE center in Dallas killed one detainee and injured two others. Against the backdrop of these events, protests in American megacities are becoming regular and increasingly large-scale.
Related: Trump Threatens to Declare State of Emergency in Washington Over Migration Crisis
