Seattle, WA – On September 26, around 20 Seattle and South King County residents gathered in the White Center neighborhood to protest the ICE shooting of Wilber Perez, and recent local abductions in the area. The group, organized by King County Immigrant Rights Alliance (KCIRA), marched through the town’s main street, stopping at each of the sites where locals were kidnapped by ICE.

The marching route was unexpectedly diverted when ICE kidnapped someone right around the corner from the demonstration. Marchers hurried to the site. They arrived mere minutes after a man named Ivan was stolen away, finding only his empty car and several locals who were gathered in the parking lot, shouting angrily about what they’d just witnessed.

“It was no more than about ten minutes ago that I came here,” said Flor Chicana, a local musician and activist who happened to be nearby when ICE agents set upon the man’s car. “It was a man named Ivan – he was being taken away and he was calm, he didn’t want anything to happen. He wanted to make sure that he could at least just be alive!”

The kidnapping took place cross the street from another abduction site, a local laundromat staffed and visited primarily by Chicanos in the area. The group stopped to chant outside and listen to a speech by Indira Trejocordova of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, while members of KCIRA went into the laundromat to speak with the employees and community members who witnessed the recent abduction.

“We have been coming out time and time again,” said Joseph Ostheller of KCIRA. “It might feel like nothing is changing. ICE activity has even increased! But change comes from consistent effort, and we already see the cracks showing! Take heart, we are still out here, still resisting. A better world is possible, and together we are unstoppable!”

#SeattleWA #WA #ImmigrantRights #ICE #KCIRA #WilberPerez

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