A Binghamton group will gather in Vestal on April 25 to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement efforts to convert warehouses across the country into detention centers.
Indivisible Binghamton will join other organizers across the nation standing in solidarity with the Detention Watch Network for a Stop ICE Warehouse Detention Day of Action.
The protest will be staged along the Vestal Parkway outside of UHS, across the street from Binghamton University.
“We’re showing up for peaceful protests, rallies, and vigils outside detention facilities, on street corners, and in front of city halls and courthouses in hundreds of communities,” co-chair for Indivisible Binghamton Linda Quilty said in an April 24 email statement.
Why protestors are speaking out in Vestal
Quilty said she was unsure what the turnout would be “until they show up,” but was hoping to see at least 100 people in attendance. Unlike previous Indivisible events, there won’t be any speakers or vendors at this demonstration.
As of March 17, the government has purchased at least 11 warehouses across the country, according to a USA TODAY analysis and the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE. In another 11 communities where ICE has proposed detention centers, private developers or the federal government itself backed out of deals after pushback from residents and local officials.
Indivisible Binghamton described the detention camps as “moral abominations.”
“We all have a role to play in the fight to end the warehousing of human beings and the criminalization of immigration,” Quilty said.
Vestal April 25 protest details
The protest will begin at 2 p.m. and run for about an hour.
Parking for attendees will be available at the UHS Physical Therapy lot.
The event is sponsored by several local organizations including Indivisible Binghamton, Peace Action, Democratic Women of Broome County, Veterans for Peace, the Broome County Democratic Committee, 50501 Binghamton, Citizen Action, Concerned Residents of Greater Binghamton, White Rose Network, Humans of ICE and Justice and Unity for the Southern Tier.
What is the Detention Watch Network?
The DWN is a national coalition aiming to build power through advocacy, grassroots organizing and efficient communication to eliminate immigrant detention within the United States.
In 1997, the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project and Lutherans Immigration and Refugee Service came together to fight the growing U.S. immigration detention system leading to the formation of the DWN organization.
Kalyn Grant reports on public service issues for the Press & Sun-Bulletin, focusing on schools and community impact. Have a story to share? Follow her on Instagram @KalynCarmen and on Facebook under Kalyn Kearney. Get in touch at KCGrant@usatodayco.com
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Why are people protesting in Vestal this Saturday?
Reporting by Kalyn Grant, Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin / Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
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