immigrant protest los angeles
Eight immigration rights activists bound their hands together and blocked an intersection in Los Angeles in front of an Immigration Customs and Enforcement field office on Tuesday, calling for an end to the deportation of Central American migrants. Above: Protesters walk past Los Angeles City Hall during an Occupy ICE protest march in Los Angeles December 15, 2011. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok

Los Angeles — Protesters blocked a downtown intersection Tuesday morning in front of a regional Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office. Eight protesters bound their arms together and an additional 100 protesters supported them chanting slogans and waving signs with messages critical of ICE, who oversee deportation raids. Protesters said on social media and in a press release that they are responding to a series of ICE raids targeting Central American migrants who have entered the U.S. since a new immigration policy was announced by the White House on Nov. 20, 2014.

The LAPD was put on “modified tactical alert” in response the protest, according to Eyewitness 7 News. Police diverted traffic from the blocked intersection, at Temple St. and N. Los Angeles St., and also shut down a nearby exit ramp on the 101 Freeway, according to California Highway Patrol. Activists posted pictures of the protesters on twitter, and took to social media using the hashtags Not 1 More (deportation), Shut Down ICE, End The Raids and Relief 4 Refugees.

A press release from California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance identified itself and “many other immigrant rights and allied organizations” as a sponsor of the protest. It also identified three demands of the direction action, including an end to deportation of Central American refugees, the recognition of “Central American asylum seekers as refugees and the root causes of the crisis” and the provision of “deportation relief for people with pending asylum cases.”

The protest echos sentiment expressed this week from Washington, where 20 Senators and over 200 NGOs have written letters calling on the administration to stop the raids. They are also asking Obama to give citizens of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador -- the countries hardest hit by gang violence -- Temporary Protective Status, a designation that would allow them to live and work in the U.S. indefinitely.

The protest occurred outside Immigration & Customs Enforcement offices in Downtown Los Angles, according to action 7 news and CHP.

Supporters played music in the street.

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