Opponents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement rallied against the agency Friday in the State College area, in the same week that ICE reportedly arrested immigrants on their way to work in Centre County.
ICE agents arrested a total of 26 men who were headed to construction jobs, according to the Centre County Rapid Response Network, a group working to protect immigrants from deportations.
According to the group, the arrests took place at two different sites: at Interstate 99 in Bellefonte and on Route 220 near the Milesburg exit.
The arrests, along with a detention center for migrants in Clearfield County, are drawing opponents.
Dotty Delafield, of Boalsburg, in Centre County, was among those protesting ICE Friday. She and a handful of others stood with flags and anti-ICE signs on the walkway of an Interstate 99 overpass in the Centre Region.
“I am appalled at the dismantling of our constitutional democracy," Delafield said. "We’ve got to speak up. We’ve got to be loud. We need to take action. This is one action I know I can take.”
Delafield said they had the event planned before the arrests. But that added to their reason for being there.
“Here are people who are doing what we have asked them to do to come into this country. They’re working, they’re paying taxes and until they get citizenship they’re not eligible for other benefits," she said. “How can we be so heartless towards people that are helping build our community.”
