Read our article Combat and Resist ICE Terror here.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) abducted over 100 people while raiding a Memphis, TN bar with support from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Memphis Police Department (MPD) on August 30. The ICE raid was the largest in Memphis history.
The attack took place around 1 AM at El Corralón, a popular Latino bar. Agents entered the bar using a search warrant issued by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation four days earlier tied to allegations of gambling machines inside the property.
Observers shared with The Worker how agents detained individuals who appeared to be Latino and who had nothing to do with the search warrant, including US citizens. Eyewitnesses reported that patrons and the staff of a food truck operating outside the property were also detained.
The Worker spoke to the daughter of a server at El Corralón who was kidnapped during the raid. “When I first got there, there was three Black men and they were trying to help everybody, letting people know that there is ICE… Cops grabbed one of them and threw him in the police car and started questioning him, asking, ‘Why are you helping these guys?’” she said. Despite the intimidation and assault, the men continued to protest the raid.
Another witness described how the workers were the first to be removed from the property: “They chained them up, zip tied them like they are animals. We seen them zip tie people.”
Local residents arrived at the bar during the raid. According to eyewitnesses, dozens of people were documenting the scene, confronting ICE agents, and voicing support for the people who were being kidnapped. A witness told The Worker, “Most of [the protesters] did not have papers and they still showed up for their people.”
In response to the people’s resistance, ICE agents attempted to block cars in the parking lot, hit cars, and lunge at people on the sidewalk.
Democratic Mayor Paul Young issued a phony statement later that day alleging that the Memphis Police Department (MPD) was not involved in the raid. “Our officers responded only after being requested to assist with traffic and crowd control when people began gathering in the area. MPD did not arrest anyone,” he said.
According to local ICE watch reports, MPD works in close collaboration with ICE, and MPD usually has Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) or ICE vehicles trailing behind them. An eyewitness told The Worker that MPD congratulated ICE and other federal agents during the raid and brought them water and other supplies.
Later in the afternoon, organizations aligned with the Democratic mafia held a rally attempting to pacify the people and funnel their anger into the electoral farce. The rally’s main speaker stated that the community will be heard “in the polls” later this year. Memphis has one of the lowest voter turnouts in the country, as the majority of Memphis residents do not trust either imperialist mafia.
Image: Anti-ICE protest. Credit: The Worker.
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