Thousands of protesters flood Foley Square in NYC on ‘National Shutdown Day’
Thousands of people gathered at Foley Square in Manhattan on Friday to protest the immigration crackdown that led to the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
About 7,000 people filled the open plaza near City Hall, where speakers addressed the crowd from a public address system set up near the Triumph of the Human Spirit fountain.
“I have to pull myself together. I’m going to cry,” Melanie Kletter, a public school teacher, told a Daily News reporter at the protest. “People do not deserve to be treated like criminals. The level of extreme force used against immigrants and protesters is out of control. It must stop.”
The demonstration of several thousand people in Manhattan came as protests sweep the country in the “National Shutdown” planned for Friday, in which organizers hope schools and workplaces will empty as people take to the streets to demand an end to ICE raids.
“Everything in the world is so terrible right now,” said Layla Ferrara, 13, who went to Foley Square to protest ICE with her mother. “I feel like this is something I can do to help.”
“Immigrants should not be criminalized. We all eat the same bread and need a safe home.”
Many protesters held their phones above their heads to get a clear view of the massive crowd. Some carried handmade signs, including posters reading “ICE GTFO of NYC” and “Ch-ga la Migra,” which is Spanish for “F— the Border Patrol.”
