BOSTON (WHDH) - Hundreds of anti-ICE protesters blocked traffic as they march through the streets of Boston on Thursday night calling for local companies to cut ties with the organization.
Protestors marched for miles from the iconic New England Holocaust Memorial on Union Street and came to a stop outside the Amazon offices in Kendall Square where the majority of the crowd dispersed following a brief encounter. However, a dozen people refused to leave and were taken out in handcuffs.
Video from Sky7 HD showed a massive crowd of people traveling down Congress Street, passing the Boston Public Market, and heading for Government Center blocking traffic for miles.
Jewish activists in the group Never Again Action say they are protesting what they perceive as poor treatment of detainees at facilities operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Demonstrators have arrived at the Amazon office in Kendall, they went into the lobby and are chanting "the whole world is watching…" pic.twitter.com/MBfPLAsLyh
— Justin Bourke (@JBourkeTweets) September 5, 2019
The group said they specifically targeted tech companies like Amazon for contracting with ICE.
No force was used during the arrests. Boston police said the 12 people taken into custody were cooperative.
Elizabeth Weinbloom, one of the activists at the march, said that in order to make a difference, you have to make a disturbance.
“We all know that it is necessary for people in positions of privilege, such as citizens, such as people who present as white and people who present as cis-gendered need to put our bodies on the line and actually take on some risk and danger in order to stand up for people who can’t choose to take on danger,” Weinbloom said.
Despite the lengeth and size of the march, no one was injured in the process.
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