Immigration Activists Block Entrances To Federal Homeland Security Building

Pro-immigration activists are declaring victory after blocking part of a federal office in Milwaukee on Thursday.

About 100 people sang, chanted and marched outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office. For three hours, 10 activists, their arms linked through plastic pipe, sat or lay down in the driveways normally used by ICE to send out vehicles on early morning enforcement raids.

ICE says it recently arrested 49 people in the Milwaukee area for immigration violations. Leilani Lopez, the sister-in-law of one of those taken in, said on Thursday that ICE needs to ease up on the raids.

“Stop the raids, stop the deportations – we feel like we did that today,” said Lopez. “It starts with one day at a time, and that’s what we’re going for,“

Milwaukee and Homeland Security police watched the protestors, but made no arrests.

A spokeswoman for ICE says her agency remains committed to sensible, effective immigration enforcement. ICE said Lopez’s brother-in law remains in custody, pending a hearing before an immigration judge.