‘ICE out of Savannah’ rally in response to Chatham Co. Police working with ICE

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Thursday’s raid sparked even more interest for people to join a scheduled protest with the Savannah Democratic Socialists of America group.

The rally was specifically organized in response to ICE agents working with Chatham County law enforcement earlier this summer.

Several dozen protesters gathered outside the Chatham County Commissioner’s building, calling on local leaders to hold the Chatham County Police Department accountable for collaborating with ICE Agents on routine traffic patrols.

According to the Chatham County Police Department, the Department of Homeland Security and ICE requested an agency assist on June 11.

ICE agents rode with two separate CCPD units and during the ride along, the CCPD officers conducted two traffic stops on Quacco Road. One driver was pulled over for failing to stop at a stop sign and the other for having obscured tags on their vehicle and trailer.

ICE agents detained both the drivers and passengers in each vehicle - a total of eight people.

After learning about the arrests, Savannah DSA leaders organized the ICE Out of Savannah rally and scheduled it right before today’s Chatham County commissioners meeting. The goal being to apply pressure on the county to stop cooperating with ICE.

Kendra Clarke, Savannah DSA co-chair, said, “we’ve been lucky as far as we know Savannah PD has not been cooperating with them, but we also know that a large portion of our migrant population lives in the county not in the city limits. It’s been very disheartening to see them working with them. You know, we are a City that is a minority-majority city, and we want to be able to stand up for all of our minority populations, including our migrant population.”

CCPD says June 11 is the only time ICE has ridden with their department.

They also said their officers do not independently engage in proactive immigration enforcement, such as knocking on doors, showing up at businesses and asking for proof of residency.

Thursday’s rally was scheduled before Thursday’s ICE raid on the Hyundai megasite in Bryan County.

Savannah DSA leaders say the raid is yet another escalation of immigration enforcement in the Coastal Empire.