Activist group Keystone Indivisible held a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on a highway overpass by Toftrees Sunday afternoon in State College.
Undeterred by the cold, windy and snowy weather, a few dozen protesters gathered on the overpass, holding up signs for cars driving down Waddle Road to see. Protesters also displayed a large sign reading "Be Brave; Resist Tyranny" that could be seen by cars driving north on I-99.
Dotty Delafield, a volunteer for Keystone Indivisible, said she grew up in State College.
“I’ve known this community, for the most part, to be inclusive and kind and caring and helpful to one another," Delafield said. "And I think the number of people out here today is a testament to that.”
Delafield said the overpass worked well for them because it had a safe place for protesters to stand, and it’s visible to cars driving both on and under the overpass.
“We’re just trying to give people an outlet for people to speak up," Delafield said. "Silence is complicity. We must speak up, and we can’t say someone else is gonna do it.”
The protest was initially going to focus on opposing Trump’s actions in Venezuela, but then Minneapolis mother Renee Nicole Good was killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross on Jan. 7.
“The events of this week, the killing of Renee Good," Delafield said, “we shifted to being focused on ICE and their cruelty and their, just, thuggedness.”
Maren Larson, a volunteer for Keystone Indivisible, said their goal is to raise awareness and increase visibility.
“It’s to let people know that we’re morally outraged by the lawlessness that we are seeing committed by the state, the state violence, to the people who live in our communities," Larson said.
The protest follows a vigil hosted by Keystone Indivisible the day before. The vigil, held at the Allen Street Gates in downtown State College, was in honor of Good and others who have been killed by ICE agents.
“I was happy yesterday that borough council members showed up and said ‘We want to keep you guys safe,’ and I believe that they do, and we will hold them accountable," Larson said.
Sunday's protesters chanted, waved at passersby, and held their signs and flags high. One protester led a chant "ICE is for drinks!"
"The most important thing to say is that I'm Mexican, and I am at risk," said protester John Ochoa. "And I'm here at my own risk.”
Ochoa is a birthright citizen, born in the United States to Mexican parents. He’s worried about Trump’s efforts to end birthright citizenship, and to only grant citizenship to babies born in the United States if at least one parent is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.
Ochoa, when asked what he would tell immigrant communities about today's event, cut himself off when a driver drove past the protest, flipping them all off.
"Que sigan… GOD LOVES YOU ANYWAY!"
"Que sigan adelante, sigan sin miedo, y sigan buscando a la gente que los puede ayudar," Ochoa said. “Que hay gente. Estamos aquí para ayudar.”
He also gave an English version of his message.
"I said, there are people who can help," Ochoa said. "There are people who stand by them, who stand with them. And that, fear is the first sign that they're winning."
