Protest against Main St. ICE facility

Photos and words by Sean Rayford

Students from the University of South Carolina came in number, marching down the Main St sidewalk on Friday evening in Columbia, South Carolina. Their arrival, signaling young organized reinforcements, elicited cheers from the protestors already standing outside 1441 Main St., a new home for an ICE legal facility and a surprise to the local community and its leaders.

One of them wielded an upside down dresser drawer as a drum. And along with several other musicians, the beat of the protest bounced off the downtown facades.

“They like to tell us that immigrants are our enemies. We refuse to be divided by that lie. We won’t let them strangle Cuba, we won’t let them target the immigrant communities in Columbia—because we are one united movement. And we refuse to be divided by their lies,” said Anson Foster, into a bullhorn just after sunset.

Foster, a former student at USC and an organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation is a common presence at Columbia protests.

“We are outraged that a contract of this magnitude moved forward without transparency or accountability from our community. ICE’s growing presence in the heart of our city will not make Columbia safer. It will deepen fear, fracture trust, and place our neighbors at greater risk. And still, we are hopeful. We believe South Carolinians will continue to show up, loudly, visibly, and in solidarity. When harm is done in the dark, communities organize in the light,” said Carey Shofner, spokesperson for Midlands SC Defensa earlier in the week about the protest.

More than 200 people participated in the demonstration.