US

Jewish Group Blockades ICE Headquarters

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Never Again Action, a Jewish group that views Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as a threat, blocked government employees from entering the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) headquarters for five hours Tuesday.

Never Again claims that it rallied 1,000 activists to form a body-blockade against the DHS (which hosts ICE offices), trapping some employees in the building, and keeping others out. Ten activists were arrested, and there has been reports that government employees were let out of work early, or moved to an offsite location due to the disruption.

“Yesterday I was in DC with a 1000 friends (Jews immigrants and allies),” tweeted a Never Again protester Yael Shafritz after the event. “With our bodies we #ShutDownICE for 5 hours; trapping cars in the parking garage, blocked every entrance and forced employees to be bussed elsewhere as they couldn’t get to their desks.” Never Again Action retweeted Shafritz and has made similar statements.

Yesterday I was in DC with a 1000 friends (Jews immigrants and allies)

With our bodies we #ShutDownICE for 5 hours; trapping cars in the parking garage, blocked every entrance and forced employees to be bussed elsewhere as they couldn’t get to their desks. (1) pic.twitter.com/1KWvxBfcaK

— Yael Shafritz ???? (@Yael_Shafritz) July 17, 2019

Never Again Action posted its own tweet a day after the event claiming that 10 activists were arrested, praising them as “just regular people doing what the moment requires!”

Yesterday 10 people with @NeverAgainActn were arrested occupying the lobby of ICE headquarters, and they livestreamed the entire thing! We’re just regular people doing what the moment requires! Text ‘Never’ to 83224 to join us.

Action starts 2 minutes in: https://t.co/mN9iDnyC7a

— Never Again Action (@NeverAgainActn) July 17, 2019

After the event, a member of Laura Ingrahm’s staff reached out to organizers, asking if they’d like to send a representative to appear on Fox News’s “Ingrahm Angle” to talk about their work.

Never Again Action responded: “We will come on Laura Ingraham’s show if she apologizes for the antisemitism, xenophobia, racism, Islamophobia, and white nationalism that she promotes, and which has gotten our people killed. Deal?”

A rep from @IngrahamAngle reached out to ask if we’d come on her show tonight.

PSA: #JewsAgainstICE don’t give interviews to white nationalists. pic.twitter.com/KvsXzewnbe

— ✡️ Never Again Action ✡️ (@NeverAgainActn) July 16, 2019

Here’s what we told @IngrahamAngle when they asked us to come on the show:

“We will come on Laura Ingraham’s show if she apologizes for the antisemitism, xenophobia, racism, Islamophobia, and white nationalism that she promotes, and which has gotten our people killed. Deal?” pic.twitter.com/0K9wmJ6T1a

— ✡️ Never Again Action ✡️ (@NeverAgainActn) July 16, 2019

Never Again Action is also recruiting people who want to “want to run an action and make some trouble” in future protests.

If you want to run an action and make some trouble where you are, sign up at https://t.co/SkG7DQG6DA #NeverAgainIsNow #NeverAgainAction #NeverAgain #NeverAgainMeans

— Yael Shafritz ???? (@Yael_Shafritz) July 17, 2019