Persisterhood hosts another protest, ‘Ice out for Good,’ calls for ICE reform
By: Noel Hardin
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article has been edited to reflect a correction of a misspelling of a name.
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) — In freezing temperatures, event organizers say over 300 people gathered in St. Joseph on Saturday for a rally organized in just five days, protesting what they describe as escalating violence and racial profiling by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and border patrol agents.
The demonstration, planned by the Persisterhood of St. Joseph and local indivisible groups, follows a series of protests held recently in Kansas City.
Protesters held up signs condemning the Donald Trump administration and ICE, and signs with the names of victims who have been killed.
Organizers said they are responding to violence “primarily in Minneapolis and other parts of Minnesota,” as well as nationwide.
Nancy Zeliff, one of the organizers, emphasized the nonpartisan nature of their cause.
“It doesn’t matter what you choose at the ballot box. In humanity, violence and killings, no one should be supportive. It’s just not a debatable issue,” Zeliff said.
The rally also served as a memorial for individuals like Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, American citizens who were killed in encounters with ICE agents.
Protesters argue their deaths show that “nobody is safe anymore.”
“They’re not coming for our immigrants anymore. They’re coming for all of us,” Zeliff stated. “They have our data, they have our license plates, they have our faces. None of us are safe anymore, but we still stand for democracy and our friends and neighbors.”
Karla Reyes, a 21-year-old protester born in Mexico and now a naturalized U.S. citizen, shared that the issue hits close to home.
She said she knows U.S. citizens who have been detained by ICE “for no reason.”
“It’s not even about politics anymore. It’s honestly just more about human rights,” Reyes said. “They’re targeting people for their skin color.”
Reyes expressed fear for her own safety, noting that even carrying identification doesn’t guarantee protection.
“They hear an accent, they look at your skin color, they look at your facial features and they’re gonna attack,” she said. “It’s scary. Like, what if I don’t go home or something?”
Reyes said she supports immigration enforcement focused on criminals, but not the targeting of random individuals.
“If ICE was doing their job, only criminals, only the actual bad people, but the fact that they’re just targeting random people is what’s not right.”
Blake, 24, attended the rally to promote peace and kindness.
He cited figures like Jesus as examples of having “no enemies,” an ethic he tries to embody.
“Small stones can have big ripples,” he said, hoping the rally makes passersby “actually look into it, learn more, and see that what’s going on is kind of wrong.”
Zeliff noted that people traveled from more than 50 miles away to attend.
“We are over 300 strong in less than an hour, and we planned this in five days,” she said. “St. Joe, in Northwest Missouri, stands. We fight back.”
The group encourages those who cannot attend rallies to call representatives and “protect our communities.”
The next protest is scheduled for February 14th, following the same theme of protesting ICE.
