At 5 p.m. Jan. 20, protestors took over Harvest Lane, the street in front of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Williston.
The Anti-ICE protest was organized by the Party for Socialism and Liberation and garnered support from community members and students, including UVM Students for Justice in Palestine.
The protestors chanted “No human is illegal,” while marching outside of the building to demand an end to ICE’s presence in Vermont. They held Minnesota flags and signs calling for justice for Renée Good.
“We’re here to target ICE, [which] has been at the center of the terror that the government has been unleashing,” said Vivan Bose-Pyne, a PSL member.
Bose-Pyne said Jan. 20 was chosen as the protest date in light of the anniversary of President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
SJP handed out Palestinian flags to protestors as they gathered in front of the ICE facility.
An anonymous SJP member said that they believe that Vermont is a safe haven for people from all backgrounds, which is now under threat.
“The fact that in this country, particularly in Vermont, safety is compromised, that our neighbors are in danger, is unacceptable,” they said.
They believe that their involvement in an anti-ICE protest speaks to solidarity — that a conflict in one part of the world cannot be resolved without supporting other causes.
“This is highly interconnected, and if you care for the struggles and cruelty that people are facing, you cannot just focus on one issue,” they said.
Wafic Faour, a protest attendee and member of the Vermont Coalition for Palestinian Liberation, believes that freedom for the Palestinian people is interconnected with the freedom of people in the U.S.
“I would love to see the connection, for people to understand that what is happening in Palestine today is coming home now,” Faour said.
Vivian Garbis, a UVM junior and Minneapolis native, was disappointed by the difference in energy between the protests in Vermont and those in Minneapolis.
She attributed the crowd’s lack of energy to limited leadership encouragement and the severe cold.
“They just don’t do it like Minneapolis does, and it makes sense because they’re not experiencing the things that we are,” Garbis said.
Garbis said that despite the underwhelming level of enthusiasm, she was proud of Vermonters for holding a protest and of the people who attended.
She emphasized that although Vermont has not seen the same level of ICE presence as Minneapolis, communities should be prepared to mobilize if similar situations arise.
“We’re still here, we’re still doing a protest, I’m going to give it the best energy that I can,” she said.
