Protesters rallied through Center City and spoke out against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as well as family separation in Philadelphia. On Monday, March 9, at 11 a.m., dozens of people gathered at Philadelphia’s ICE office on 114 North 8th Street. They then marched to the Phil adelphia Family Court building along the 1500 block of Arch Street. The protesters called on City Council to pass the proposed “ICE Out” legislation which would limit ICE’s ability to operate in Philadelphia. The protesters also demanded that state lawmakers find a way to prevent two recently acquired warehouses in Berks and Schuylkill counties from turning into ICE detention centers. “We are here because we believe that the cruelty of ICE under this administration is absolutely unethical, unchristian and unamerican,” Rev. Alissa Lasater Wailoo of First United Methodist Church of Germantown said. The protest was one of several that have occurred outside Philadelphia’s ICE office every Monday for the past 22 weeks that have included local faith leaders. For the most recent rally – which occurred a day after International Women’s Day – several people joined the prayer vigil for the first time. “I just felt like this was very important to me,” Kimberly Gonzalez, one of the protesters, said. “I’ve seen how it affects others that I know. Children. It’s not fair how they’re affected by the racism that’s in this country currently. It just feels very unjust for the place that’s supposed to be the American dream for many.” During Monday’s rally outside the family court office, the protesters called out what they believe to be another form of family separation. “Billions and billions of dollars are spent on war and detention and deportation but we have people here that are homeless. Children who are taken from their families because their parents and caregivers cannot afford utilities. Cannot afford housing,” Tree Muldrow, a member of Women of Colour Global Women Strike, told NBC10. The protesters demanded that Philadelphia implement recommendations made by a Special Committee on Child Separation in 2022 that call for more transparency in family court and for the system to treat poverty-related issues as separate from neglect. “We need to be mobilizing people because we know that when we do that, when we tell our elected officials and when there are enough of us telling them, that yes, they feel like they’re supported and they can do the hard things,” Rosemary Barbera, another protester, told NBC10. City council will hold a meeting on the “ICE Out” legislation in April. ...read more read less