On Thursday afternoon, social media reports of federal immigration enforcement presence on College Street prompted over 100 community members — including many Brown students — to gather outside the Rhode Island Superior Court in protest.
A smaller group of local advocates originally planned to attend a Deportation Defense Network of R.I. press conference outside of the courthouse, hoping to rally for virtual immigration court hearings. But after a 16-year-old Superior Court intern was temporarily taken into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody prior to the press conference, the purpose of the gathering shifted into a protest, DDN Organizer Maya Lehrer MAT ’23 told The Herald.
At the protest, demonstrators chanted, “No hate, no fear, ICE is not welcome here,” and held signs reading, “Money for healthcare and education, not for ICE!” and “No more ICE kidnappings! Virtual courts now!”
Providence police were not notified of ICE presence in the city today, according to Providence Police Department Spokesperson Josh Estrella.
In a Thursday Instagram statement, Gov. Dan McKee wrote that ICE agents “wrongfully detained” the intern. He stated that the temporary detainment “could have completely upended a young person’s life,” and described the action as “outrageous and indefensible.”
“This was not a harmless mistake,” McKee added.
The detained individual was released after a Superior Court judge intervened, according to a statement the judiciary provided to the Providence Journal.
“If not for the intervention of a Superior Court judge, who insisted that ICE had wrongfully identified his intern as their target, this young person would have been taken into ICE custody,” the statement continued.
ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lehrer told The Herald that though federal immigration enforcement agents have been sighted on College Hill before, the group has not seen a detainment be reversed in this manner. Lehrer added that she believes that the reversal happened “due to community pressure.”
While the Providence City Council has already passed a resolution to offer virtual hearings at the two courts they oversee last month, the press conference — which was announced by the DDN earlier this week — aimed to demand statewide virtual court proceedings. Speakers included members from the DDN, the Party for Socialism and Liberation R.I. and Brown student organizers, among others.
In a speech at the protest, Providence City Council President Rachel Miller noted that the council voted to offer virtual hearings at both courts due to the DDN’s advocacy. Some of this advocacy took place during recent discussions of City Council’s amendments to the Community-Police Relations Act, Lehrer said.
Celia Peña ’28, a student leader of Brown Dream Team and a member of the Student Clinic for Immigrant Justice, said that “when fear of deportation becomes a barrier of justice … that’s not a justice system, that’s a system of exclusion” in a speech at the rally. Brown Dream Team is a student group that supports undocumented students, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients and others.
Miriam Weizenbaum, co-founder of the Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island, said that “simply appearing before a court … is a basic right,” during a speech at the event.
“We simply cannot continue to deny the right to access to justice,” she added.
Students involved in the DDN’s College Hill unit “are outraged about the fact that ICE is operating just moments away from campus,” Lehrer told The Herald.
“How can we really assume that our students are going to be kept safe here at Brown when ICE is wandering around here constantly?” Diego Castillo ’27, an organizer with the DDN, asked during a speech at the protest.
In an interview with The Herald, Castillo also noted that students “can’t think of (this issue as) something that only impacts immigrants or the Providence community … because clearly it does” impact College Hill.
Since July, the DDN has circulated a petition calling on the city and state to offer virtual hearings, trials and conferences at all courts, The Herald previously reported. The petition came after the DDN noticed a trend of detainments outside local courthouses while network members were carrying out their regularly scheduled patrolling shifts.
The DDN introduced this petition because they see virtual court hearings as “the most effective way” to ensure the local community is protected from federal immigration enforcement, Castillo added.
As of Thursday evening, the petition has amassed over 2,500 signatures.
In her speech, Miller said that virtual court hearings would “protect residents in the face of cruel tactics that are separating families.” City Council was “in this fight, and will continue to be,” she added.
Castillo said that City Council’s decision to offer virtual court proceedings is “a big step for legitimizing” the group’s demands, and he emphasized the role community pressure played in the council’s decision.
“Our work isn’t done,” Castillo said during the protest. “There’s still people that are in danger — not just in Providence, but throughout the state.”
Annika Singh is The Herald’s tech chief and a metro editor from Singapore. She covers crime, justice and local politics, but mainly she stands in line for coffee and looks up answers every time she attempts a crossword.
