Hundreds of protestors gathered throughout Lake County over the weekend to call for the end of immigration operations in the U.S. after a woman was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minnesota.
A community vigil and protest event was held at the Ela Peace Pole in downtown Lake Zurich at 5 p.m. Sunday.
The event, organized by “concerned residents,” artists of Preserve Collaborative and supporters of the Ela Peace Project, was held for all people affected by the “inhumane actions” of ICE.
The event was also held in response to the killing of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, who was a U.S. Citizen that was fatally shot by an ICE agent during immigrant operations in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as she tried to drive away from agents on Wednesday.
Many attendees brought candles and were asked to attend with “peaceful intent.” Two counter-protesters appeared across the street from the vigil but left before the event ended.
Several people spoke to the crowd, including State Rep. Nabeela Syed.
“Fear will not win if we remain in community. When we stand together in solidarity, using our collective voices to speak loudly, we remain strong in the face of injustice,” organizers said.
A vigil and protest event was also held at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Port Clinton Square in Highland Park to “honor those murdered and disappeared” by ICE.
“We stand united in denouncing the heinous violence of this administration. The systemic violence of ICE is a feature not a bug—our communities deserve better. Renee Good deserved better,” said Rachel Jacoby, who organized the event.
A third Lake County event, a peaceful protest for the “innocent killed by ICE,” was held from 2-5 p.m. Sunday at Corrine J. Rose Park in Waukegan.
HandsOver Humanity organized the event, which called for “ICE out of everywhere” and “no kings, no fascists, no tyrants and no nazis.”
“We gather in vigil for the innocent lives lost to ICE since the start of this new administration. Our communities have been terrorized long enough through fear, separation, and violence,” organizers said.
“NOW is the time to come together, to protect one another, and to stand in unity! This is the moment to rise up against injustice and show that our communities will not be silent!” they said.
Protests were also held in Barrington on Friday evening and at Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Sheridan Road in North Chicago Saturday afternoon where organizers called for “no war with Venezuela” and “abolish ICE.”
The Highland Park and North Chicago protests both saw approximately 200 people each.
Fewer than 100 attended the Lake Zurich event. Approximately 60-75 people attended the Waukegan protest, while the Barrington protest saw approximately 75 people.