A beautiful and powerful movement against ICE

As someone who fears what ICE is currently doing to the people of this country, I feel that what the community of Danbury is doing is a beautiful and powerful movement. A display of people willing to unite to fight against the injustices against immigrants who are regular people just like you and me.

Masked hunters search out people who came here for a chance at a better life, claiming that they are the ones putting us in danger, when the reality is that it is ICE.

ICE keeps forcing its way in, disrupting the community and causing fear for families. As the Mayor Roberto Alves of Danbury says, “We feared deportation, but we didn’t fear brutality.” ICE is using violence even more day by day. Scaring people of all ages. Their target stayed the same, but their methods changed into inhuman treatment.

I hate that people have to hide away because of the way they came here. I know people in this situation, who ask what they have done wrong. The answer is nothing. In fact, these people I know have been fighting everyday for the past 20 years plus to get a chance for proper papers. Fighting for longer than I have been alive. The system makes it hard to do things the right way. It makes it feel like it’s impossible to get permission to be here.

Even people like me who have citizenship fear being picked off the street just for the color of my skin. ICE is racially profiling anyone who looks “wrong” in their eyes. They are teaching people to be afraid of being another skin color. Teaching children to hate and hide themselves.

Do Americans remember their own history? This is a question I keep wondering about a lot and it’s terrifying. I fear that they have forgotten what it means to be on this land — land that was stolen from indigenous people by European immigrants. I fear that people have forgotten what it is to be human and how to treat another human. No one is illegal on stolen land.

ICE needs to be held accountable for their actions. I strongly agree with that after wrongfully arresting so many people. People like Luis who haven’t committed a crime.

The community of Danbury deserves to feel safe. Families deserve to have the right to go outside and live life as anyone should. Children shouldn’t have to witness brutality in spaces that are meant to be theirs. Immigrant children deserve to grow up like any other kid. They shouldn’t have to see their parents be taken away. Shoved. Tased. Killed. We are humans too. We love too and have the right to dream.

These protests are not something to be ignored, but acknowledged. These are the cries of help from honest hard working people. Cries from people who put food on your plate, clean your houses, serve you the food you buy from the store, help keep you healthy and many other jobs.

Danbury residents are demanding safety for everyone in their community. Danbury has the right to demand peace. Demand that ICE be held accountable for the pain they are spreading.

Kelly Castellanos is a student at Western Connecticut State University.