Protesters gathered in 6 degree temperatures at Grand Circus Park in downtown Detroit on Saturday, Jan. 24, hours after a person was fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis.
About 40 people from a handful of groups showed up to the previously planned rally. Freedom Road Socialist Organization member Jackson Robak, of Pontiac, said the protest was originally planned to protest the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term and mass deportations. The shooting today was all the more reason to come out, Robak said.
“Someone was brutalized and murdered,” Robak said. “I think it’s very important to be out here to show Trump that Detroit isn’t going to tolerate his attacks on our communities.”
Kassandra Rodriguez, an organizer with the group Comité de Acción Comunitaria, said the group wants Detroit to put “sanctuary city” policies in place to oppose any city collaboration with ICE.
Detroit police previously told the Free Press that in sanctuary cities, local police refuse to cooperate with federal agencies in enforcing federal immigration law, and saying that Detroit is not a sanctuary city. However, DPD added, the department does not enforce federal or immigration laws.
Also, when similar demands came from citizens at a City Council meeting on Jan. 13, City Council President James Tate said the body still is at the point of fact-finding and identifying future strategies.
“We are listening, we are learning, but we are also strategizing,” Tate said. “You have to do it in a way that makes sure that those who you are trying to address in the most positive way are shielded from the negative effects of what could happen.”
Daanyal Syed, an organizer with Detroit Anti War Committee, said the group is demanding an end to intervention in Venezuela as well as contracts Detroit has with companies like Oracle and ShotSpotter.
“We believe that a lot of these contracts can be invested into different contracts that are not war profiteering, or shouldn’t exist at all and that money should go to Detroiters,” Syed said.
The Saturday protest follows a “strike and fight for immigrant rights” event on frigid Friday night, Jan. 23, at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Field Office in Detroit. Friday’s protest was organized by similar groups as Saturdays, including the the DROP Trump Coalition and groups including 50501, Detroit Will Breathe, Freedom Road Socialist Organization and more. The nationwide strike was especially prevalent in Minneapolis and called for people to not buy anything and to skip work and school on Friday.
Protest organizers said future protest and meeting dates will be posted to the organizations’ social media pages. Organizers said they plan to protest at City Council again in February.
Rodriguez encouraged people to get involved in organizations and show up to protests.
“At the end of the day, all of us are demanding that Detroit become a better city,” Rodriguez said. “There’s campaigns in each of our groups for people to get involved in and make real change here in Detroit. It’s important for people to know that there’s campaigns out here that they can become a part of and involved in whatever they are passionate about.”
Free Press reporter Dana Afana contributed to this report.
Contact Natalie Davies at ndavies@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit protesters brave frozen weather hours after Minnesota shooting
Reporting by Natalie Davies, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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