About 50 people gathered at Springfield City Hall on Friday, Aug. 14, to rally against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and support local immigrants. The event was attended by two Springfield city councilors, Steve Moe and Jill Quadros.

Concerns Over ICE Activity

Organizers shared stories of immigrants killed by federal agents during enforcement operations and called on the crowd to build community in the face of fear and violence. Kriscia Rivas, an organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation and La Gente Unida de Lane, a local immigrant rights group, expressed her frustration with recent reports of immigration enforcement in Springfield.

Rivas told the stories of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Houston man fatally shot in early July by an ICE officer on his way to work, and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a Colombian man killed by an ICE officer during a traffic stop in Maine less than a week later. She emphasized the need for change and the abolition of ICE.

Community Support

Miguel Rivas, an organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation and the Lane County Immigrants Defense Network, urged attendees to unite in their activism against federal immigration enforcement. He pointed to the 140 detainees at the ICE detention center in Tacoma on a hunger strike as of Aug. 11, seeking better conditions, including proper medical care.

Lupita, the midday host of Lane County’s only FM Spanish-language radio station, “La Que Buena,” also spoke at the rally, expressing her heartbreak over how ICE is “quietly lurking” in the community to arrest hardworking fathers. She reported 19 detentions in Oregon between Aug. 1 and Aug. 7.

A Springfield resident and food cart owner named Margarito was reportedly arrested Aug. 10 by ICE while working, according to a GoFundMe for his family and Facebook posts. Lupita called on city leaders to show up to rallies in solidarity with their cause.

Springfield city councilors Steve Moe and Jill Quadros attended the gathering, listening quietly as Lupita called out to the crowd. Moe said he came to the protest because recent immigration enforcement is “unfair,” and community members are scared. Quadros added that they are “listening” and “here” to hear what the community has to say.

Original reporting: Homepage – Lookout Eugene-Springfield — read the source article.