CARY -- In a quiet office park off Evans Road sits a two-story red brick building with tinted glass windows and shades. There’s no sign outside; no U.S. flag nearby.
But some 40 protesters bearing wooden crosses drove there Thursday morning to inform its tenants they know what goes on inside, and they’re outraged.
The building, at 140 Centrewest Court, is one of many unmarked Immigration and Customs Enforcement field offices where illegal immigrants are detained before being hauled off to an immigration judge and, in many cases, deported.
Using familiar civil rights tactics, the protesters sought to bring attention to the building and demand transparency, including a list of the people being detained and access to attorneys and family members for those arrested.
“The inhumanity of detaining people without representation is against the fundamental foundation of who we are as a country,” said Rick Miller-Haraway, regional director of Catholic Charities and one of the protesters.
No one was arrested at the demonstration as ICE agents and Cary Police stood on the sidelines.
The timing of the protest came during Holy Week on the day Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, prior to his crucifixion. The protesters, many of whom are Christians, came with a washbasin and several gallons of water. As people chanted psalms and read Scripture passages, the Rev. Isaac Villegas managed to wash about five people’s feet before an unmarked white van rolled in dispersing the protesters.
A handcuffed Hispanic-looking man was then let out of the car and escorted into the building.
The protesters quickly hung yellow crime scene tape on the black metal gates in the rear of the building.
“By our yellow crime scene tape, we’ve identified this as a crime scene,” said Patrick O’Neill, one of the protesters.
Gail Phares, one of the group’s leaders then led the protesters in “We shall not be moved,” a spiritual song that was adapted by the activists of the 1930s.
The protest ended shortly after noon.
