Protesters Gather in Manhattan’s Griffith Park After ICE Raids Prompt Outcry
- Emma Baldwin
- Feb 6
- 3 min read
MANHATTAN, Kan. – A protest was held at Griffith Park on Friday, February 5th, in response to the ICE raids that occurred earlier that morning.
At 9:58 am on February 5, the Riley County Police Department (RCPD) posted on Facebook confirming that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had been in the Manhattan area. The post also stated that there were “operations that were conducted” and that “RCPD was not involved in these operations.”
A group called Indivisible MHK that often organizes protests in the area posted their own Facebook post that same day, calling for a protest of the ICE raids that afternoon at Griffith Park. Colorful signs lined the fence next to Fort Riley Boulevard with loud chants rising from the crowd gathered about democracy and petitions were circulating about impeaching President Donald Trump, Senator Roger Marshall, Senator Jerry Moran and Congressman Tracey Mann.
A board member of Indivisible MHK, John Q. Thomas, believed the raids that morning influenced the size of the crowd present that afternoon. “Well, normally we have maybe 5 to 12 people out here. This is what happens,” Thomas said. “We've got probably well over 100 today.”
Dominic Moore was an attendee of the protest and is a student at Kansas State University. He disapproved of the ICE raids happening in Manhattan.
“The fact that we have students who are afraid to even go to classes because they're afraid that they may be illegally kidnapped and deported by ICE is something that is just completely dystopian,” Moore said. “And I hope that just people are able to hear our voices today and that they see that this is an ongoing problem and that ultimately fascism does not win.”
Members of the protest believed that ICE is going too far and impeding on people’s constitutional rights, with no one holding them responsible for it. They want to spread awareness of the actions of ICE and the government involved with them.
“I mean, it's a matter of accountability,” the security chair of Indivisible MHK, Amber Starling said. “If RCPD were to do something wrong, then Director [Brian] Peete would get on to his guys. And instead of seeing that accountability, what we're seeing is, well, you guys can do whatever you want with total immunity and that's not how a country works. That's not how a democracy works”
Aaron Estabrook, a candidate running for the Kansas State House of Representatives, was another attendee of the protest. He came to the protest because he wanted people “that are home, afraid to come out because of ICE” to know that there were supporters out there and that “we love them and we’re going to fight for their right to be here.” As a combat veteran, he had his own personal stake in the protest as well.
“…When I deployed, I had an interpreter,” Estabrook said, “and that interpreter now lives in Manhattan, and we have resettled over 200 Afghans into Manhattan. They're all here legally, and I want to make sure that they're not messed with by ICE.”
Another attendee of the protest, Diana Caldwell, feared for the future of the country. She wanted to spread awareness and “open their eyes” to a “better outcome of this dream of America.”
“[I have] fear that we're losing who we say we are as America,” Caldwell said, “and I want to find some way that I can express myself, and also, I want to be able to encourage other people. When they see that they're not alone, with perhaps similar thoughts, that they can perhaps come together, coalesce, and make some changes…. If no one stands up and addresses this leadership and what our needs are as a country, then we are doomed. I hate to say that.” Indivisible MHK has been holding four protests a week for past 40 weeks and plans to continue to do so, having held another on Friday the 6th.
They also have held a lecture series called, “Building a Community Response Team for Immigrants” that explains your rights and how to react in “the worse-case scenario of ICE activity.” There was no video or photo allowed at this event because of threats to the speaker’s life.
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