DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Thousands of people lined Buford Highway near Plaza Fiesta Saturday protesting for nearly seven hours.
People shut down the highway rallying against recent crackdowns by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after the agency announced their “targeted operations.”
ICE officials said they are focusing on deporting people with criminal histories or with final orders of deportations; however, they also said anyone who entered the country illegally is at risk of being arrested.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation, or PSL Atlanta, organized the rally in response to the recent crackdown by ICE to stand in solidarity with the families being impacted.
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“We’re out here to show that the people aren’t scared,” said Estevan Hernandez with PSL Atlanta. “We’re going to stand up, build this movement, and fight back.”
For some of the thousands of people in the crowd, rallying for rights is a bit more personal.
Nilson Barahona told Channel 2′s Eryn Rogers that he got detained by ICE in 2019 and spent 13 months in different detention centers in Georgia, despite being in the country legally on a Visa.
He said the conditions in the facility are so horrible that he went on a hunger strike while he was being detained. But, he said the hardest part was being away from his family.
“My son was five-years-old at the time,” Barahona said. “My wife is an American citizen, my son was born here, how can I explain to my son that I’ve been taken away from him…I felt like I was losing the bond that I have.”
Barahona said his case eventually got dismissed, and he was released, but the trauma still lives with him.
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“We are allowing human rights to be violated here on American soil, and that shouldn’t happen, and that’s the reason why we come out to the streets and that’s the reason why we want to raise our voices,” Barahona said.
Chamblee Police dispersed the group around 7:30 p.m. Saturday night.
PSL Atlanta is holding an organizing meeting Sunday afternoon at Little Five Points Community Center.
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