Nearly 100 Anti-ICE Protesters Arrested After Shutting Down West Side Highway
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- An anti-ICE demonstration shut down part of the West Side Highway in Manhattan on Saturday and now nearly 100 protesters have been arrested.
Hundreds protested in the street, shutting down the busy roadway in both directions at 26th Street for a short time Saturday afternoon.
"We are protesting the camps at the border and the children being separated from their parents," Miriam Bernstein of Brooklyn told CBS2.
Protesters carried signs reading "ABOLISH ICE" and "CLOSE THE CAMPS."
The demonstrators claimed their actions were fueled by the recent high profile immigration enforcement raids at processing plants in Mississippi.
Nearly 700 people were detained in what officials touted as the largest single-state immigration enforcement sweep in U.S. history.
"I am absolutely infuriated by children being broken up and split from their families as our government detains people rounded up all these immigrants last week," Nikki Blazek claimed.
Protestors say they chose to demonstrate at that Manhattan intersection for a reason.
"ICE has offices in that building on the seventh floor, that is why we chose this particular intersection," Bernstein added.
Due to police activity, expect road closures and a heavy presence of emergency personnel at 12th Avenue and West 22nd Street in Manhattan. The closure at West Side Highway and West 26th Street has reopened. Consider alt routes. https://t.co/7keJh6yOVM
— NYCEM - Notify NYC (@NotifyNYC) August 10, 2019
All lanes of the highway were closed in both directions at West 26th Street for a period of time. The road reopened around 2:15 p.m.
The nearly 100 arrested are facing disorderly conduct charges. They were all loaded on to police buses and taken in custody before authorities reopened the road.