Crowd in Moundsville Protests ICE Activities, West Virginia’s Support of Agency
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MOUNDSVILLE -- A crowd gathered Saturday afternoon in Moundsville to protest the recent actions of ICE -- also known as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
A sizable crowd gathered in the Moundsville Plaza near the Moundsville Bridge to voice their thoughts --often using strong language -- against the recent actions of the Trump Administration and ICE to arrest and detain immigrants in the country illegally.
The event was sponsored by the Mountain Party of West Virginia, WV Fights Back and Bluejay Rising.
"Public records show that ICE is detaining immigrants at the Northern Regional Jail, and we are in solidarity with immigrant communities," explained Mountain Party Chairman Dylan Parsons of New Martinsville. "We are here to demand ICE out of our streets, out of the NRJ and out of our state."
He put forth a message to West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey.
"He's a hypocrite," Parsons said. "He is blaming immigrants for drug trafficking, while all the while coming in here from New Jersey and lobbying on behalf of pharmaceutical companies.
"He has the gall to come here and blame drug trafficking on immigrants. He ought to be ashamed."
Parsons noted the Mountain Party also believes a nation with immigrants is a "bipartisan project" not being represented properly by Republicans or Democrats.
"They both represent our anti-immigrant capitalist system, and we are doing our best to tear that system down."
Among those also speaking was Cody Cumpston of Moundsville, a former Democratic candidate for the House of Delegates.
Cumpston carried a sign that stated "ICE belongs in my beer cooler, not on my street."
He suggested the U.S. government is testing how far it can go when denying individual rights, and is hoping "nobody will notice until it is too late."
"This isn't the country we were promised, and this isn't the country we deserve," Cumpston told the crowd. "I keep reading story after story about undocumented immigrants being denied due process.
"Let me remind everyone -- due process means you have the right to be treated fairly under law before the government takes away your freedom, your property or your life. It's not a privilege, it's a constitutional right for everyone."
Cumpston added he would "never stand for a government who denies those rights to anybody."
"They can debate immigration policy all day long, but I am not debating basic human rights," he said. "That's non-negotiable.
"I will not stand for plainclothes officers whipping in to arrest people without transparency, and you shouldn't either."
We are a nation of immigrants built by immigrants for immigrants, he continued.
"They are being blamed for crime, drugs and poverty, but let's stop and think about it," Cumpston said. "They are no different than us. They are parents. They are workers. They are dreamers. They want safety. They want opportunity. They want a better life for their families."