Miramar ICE Protesters Released From Jail
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MIRAMAR (CBSMiami) – Seventeen men and women arrested Wednesday during a protest outside a Miramar Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building are out of jail.
Around 4 a.m. Thursday a bond of $100 was posted for each of the 17 people arrested. They were charged with unlawful assembly and obstructing a public road.
The group refused to leave an intersection on Southwest 145th Avenue, where they had protested all day Wednesday, calling for the city to shut down the facility and to advocate the dismantling of ICE.
As the protesters trickled out of jail late Thursday morning they were greeted by cheers and chants of "which side are you on?"
"They're freedom fighters that decided to take an action, a direct action, calling on the mayor and calling on the city to close and shut down the ICE facility in Miramar," said Ricardo Campos, with United We Dream.
Protesters claim undocumented immigrants are forced to stand in the hot sun at the Miramar facility for hours on end waiting to be seen for monthly check-ins.
"We knew the risk," said Paula Munoz, one of the protesters who was arrested.
ICE says some of the claims about the Miramar facility are not true.
Bathroom facilities are available inside the building and there are water fountains in the lobby.
ICE is also considering putting water fountains outside the building.
