Neighbors Thwart ICE

Nashville Neighbors Thwart ICE Arrest

When ICE tried to arrest an undocumented man in Tennessee, neighbors and a network of volunteers formed a human chain to protect him. Time: “Residents in a suburban Nashville neighborhood came together to protect an undocumented man as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers attempted to arrest him Monday morning. After a four-hour attempted arrest — during which time the undocumented man and his young son barricaded themselves inside a van parked in front of their home — ICE agents left, and neighbors and activists on the scene created a human chain to allow the family to get indoors. ‘At that point it was being extra cautious and letting the family know, look, we got your back, we’re between you and the unknown, and here’s a safe pathway back to your front door,’ Tristan Call, a volunteer at Movements Including X (MIX), a collective of young activists who organize for social causes, tells TIME. Call was a part of the human chain. By the time the attempted arrest was over, dozens of people had showed up to support the undocumented man, including two city councilmen from Nashville. The volunteers showed up as part of a network called ICE Rapid Response to protect undocumented immigrants, just one example of communities throughout the country who have responded to increasing threats of ICE arrests.”