Protesters invoking "Never Again" surround, blockade and enter ICE headquarters

Video: blockades isolate and shut down ICE headquarters 1 min 38 sec

On the 16th of July, protesters from Never Again Action, Jews against ICE, and Movimiento Cosecha blocked every doorway into ICE headquarters on 12th street and the streets outside. Jewish activists explicitly tied Trump's concentration camps to those used by the Nazis during WWII, using talking points like "Never Again means NOW!"

In addition to the blockades, 12 protesters entered the building and reportedly were the only protesters arrested in this day of direct action against ICE and concentration camps.

One participant reported via Twitter "Someone walking by our protest said that an ICE employee blocked from leaving ‘probably just wants to go home and see her kids,'" continuing "THOUSANDS of immigrants in detention just want to go see their kids. ICE employees can wait a few hours."

In desperation ICE bosses had to resort to trying to shuttle their "typists and file clerks" (as in the 1940's round of camps) to another building. This was made more difficult by street blockades reinforcing the all-doorways blockade. This type of combined blockade is reminescent of Occupy DC's October 4, 2011 blockade of the Koch Brother's "defending the American Dream" convention of GOP extremists in the Washington Convention Center.That too blocked all doorway and all street access to the target. That time around however, efforts by protesters to gain entry did not work as they were probably expected.

At ICE by comparison, protesters succeeded both in denying the adminstrators that keep Trump's racial purity police running access to their offices and in gaining entry into the building themselves. The only known arrests were 12 people who entered the building. Nobody in the doorway or street blockades was arrested, with everyone finally marching away in victory shortly after 4:30PM, with the "working" day well and truly ended for those whose work is to "Make America White Again." There is NOTHING uglier than blunt talk from even members of Congress about concentration camps and the videos that have emerged from them, and no stronger condemnation possible than this flat-out invocation of the Holocaust with "Never Again." That may have played a role in discouraging further arrests.

At this point, Trump's planned major offensive against urban migrant communities has bogged down in a storm of protest, ugly historical comparisons, and all-out direct action. As of now, protesters and migrant activists may have succeeded in gaining the offensive. Now is the time to take the fight to white supremacists and their minions whereever they work and wherever they live!

Marching off the road in victory after shutting down much of ICE headquarters with an all-entrances plus street blockade

Jewish activists bluntly invoke "Never Again"

Aerial view of the combined street and door blockades-cropped from Alyssa Rubin photo

Sophe Ellman-Golan photo (cropped) of one of the human chains blockading the streets around ICE

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