ICE Chicago news: Sheriff's deputies remove group of 'suburban moms' at Broadview protest today against immigration enforcement
Sheriff's deputies removed a group of 14 suburban moms, as they call themselves, who were sitting in a circle in the middle of the road outside of the Broadview Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility as a symbol of civil disobedience on Friday.
These are moms from across the western suburbs, they say. They are demanding an end to the "campaign of chaos," as they refer to the Department of Homeland Security's immigration enforcement operation "Midway Blitz."
Protesters say they are enraged by the terror being inflicted upon their communities. They say their friends, relatives, caregivers, and neighbors are living in fear, and people are being ripped from their lives and their families.
So, these moms want to use their "privilege as white women," they say, to amplify what is happening in their neighborhoods and throughout the Chicagoland area and mobilize their community to stand with immigrant families.
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"It is worse than you can imagine out on the streets right now, and it is because of the federal immigration enforcement we're seeing every day. Our communities are living in abject fear, and it's time for people that look like us to take a stand and put our own physical bodies in front of those bodies, because it is unacceptable," said Ellen Toobin, who lives in Oak Park.
At the same time, a caravan of about 20 cars has been driving by the intersection of Beech and Lexington outside the Broadview ICE facility. The participants have been honking their horns, with signs posted on their vehicles that say, "hands off Chicago," also in protest of the ongoing immigration enforcement.
Other groups are holding more protests there on Friday, including a multi-faith prayer service that got underway around 11 a.m.
