Two protests at the Statue of Liberty against US immigration policy forced the monument to close for the Fourth of July. The statue is a symbol of the United States welcoming immigrants; as a result, it was an excellent place to highlight the myth of the United States, which now persecutes immigrants and restricts immigration. On Independence Day, six people were arrested for hanging a large banner on the statue’s pedestal that read “Abolish I.C.E.” The Associated Press reported the individuals were taken into custody around 2:30 p.m.
A group of heroes unfurling an #AbolishICE banner and one woman scaling the actual base of the Statue Of Liberty with a similar message today. ??? pic.twitter.com/9rsqjw5F7K
— Ricky Davila (@TheRickyDavila) July 4, 2018
— Rise and Resist (@riseandresistny) July 4, 2018
Associated Press reported on the second related protest resulting in an additional arrest, writing,
A woman protesting U.S. immigration policy climbed the Statue of Liberty’s base and forced the monument’s evacuation on the Fourth of July hours after several other demonstrators had hung a banner on the statue’s pedestal and had been arrested.
About 100 feet (30 meters) above ground, the climber engaged in a four-hour standoff with police before two officers climbed up to the base and went over to her. With the dramatic scene unfolding on live television, she and the officers edged carefully around the rim of the statue’s robes toward a ladder, and she climbed down about 25 feet (8 meters) to the monument’s observation point and was taken into custody.</p
#StatuteofLiberty: protester refused to climb down until all immigrants children are reunited with their parents. The #NYP has provided the unknown female with a ladder. pic.twitter.com/MsBfwlJT9F
— BeeNewsDaily (@BeeNewsDaily) July 4, 2018
The woman had participated earlier in displaying a banner calling for abolishing the federal government’s chief immigration enforcement agency, said Jay W. Walker, an organizer with Rise and Resist, which arranged the demonstration.
— Rise and Resist (@riseandresistny) July 4, 2018
Officers have reached the woman climbing the statue. #StatuteOfLiberty pic.twitter.com/06BkfwoZPS
— Stefan Holt (@stefholt4NY) July 4, 2018
Rise and Resist said in their statement, their action was in solidarity with nationwide protests last weekend against Trump’s child detention and family separation policies. They listed the following facts:
- Tens of thousands of people whom ICE has deported have no criminal record;
- ICE detainees have been denied medical care and are subject to solitary confinement, sexual assault, and rape. ICE requested that the National Archives and Records Administration destroy records related to its detention operations;
- Asylum seekers are often held by ICE without trial or bail;
- While the United Stated has a reputation for refuge. ICE conducts raids in our schools, courthouses and workplaces, spreading fear and brutality.
“ICE has proved to be a threat to our liberty and way of life, and should be abolished,” said Leon Kirschner, Rise and Resist member. “They go after the most vulnerable among us, acting without due process to detain people. For-profit companies are making money off family separation. This has to stop now.”