“Desert and Detention: No More Deaths” Protest at ICE Detention Center in Aurora, Colorado

Photo: Twitter/@ZachNeumann

 
A call had gone out for a “Day of Action,” No More Deaths/No Más Muertes, for Friday, June 21. In Aurora, Colorado, a “Desert and Detention: No More Deaths” protest was held outside the 1,500-bed ICE detention center, which is being sued by the ACLU of Colorado for the death of Kamyar Samimi, who died in December 2017 while being imprisoned there. Protesters placed shoes on the ground to represent the number of immigrants killed both by crossing the border through and in immigrant detention centers. Signs had the names and ages of those killed. The names were read aloud, one by one. Marching around the detention center, people chanted, “Melt the toxic ICE,” “No more raids” and “Children’s rights are human rights.” Immigrants being detained in the building, both children and adults, looked out from windows, waving and making heart signs with their hands. They held signs, some with phone numbers, asking for help. One sign read, “7 months,” indicating how long they had been held. Another had just the word, “Help.”