If you haven’t noticed as of yet, I.C.E. has recently had a sudden spike of media attention since the beginning of the year. Why?
Ever since Trump’s endorsement, I.C.E. has been cracking down in arresting and deporting immigrants living across the U.S., but how has this impacted the country itself?
On Sunday, February 2nd, residents in Los Angeles began to protest against the new I.C.E. raids and policies, before eventually moving onto Freeway 101. This massive protest forced LA police to shut down the freeway indefinitely. This event was the spark that led to many other protests against I.C.E. to appear all across the U.S. The protest even went viral across top platforms like TikTok, X (formerly known as Twitter), Instagram, and others alike.
Following the LA protest, a boycott was set to happen on February 3rd, where various businesses, workers, and especially students, would not show up to school or work. This boycott was dubbed ‘A Day Without Immigrants’, so American citizens could see what a day without their immigrant peers would be like. This boycott caused massive losses in profit for businesses, and it even affected schools—who depend on the students’ attendance for school funding. Yet it didn’t stop there. Many students began to stage walkouts in protest, with videos of said walkouts getting millions of views and more attention to the cause.
But the question is… What’s next? Well, until the ICE raids, policies, and deportations die down or come to a complete stop – people won’t just quit. They’ll protest, and they’ll fight. For their rights. For their families. For their freedom.
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