Protesters in Richmond call for ban on local cooperation with ICE after wave of detentions

Protesters hold signs outside Richmond City Hall on Monday during a rally against recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detentions, calling for the city to bar local cooperation with federal immigration authorities. (Photo by Markus Schmidt/Virginia Mercury)

Dozens of demonstrators gathered outside Richmond City Hall Monday afternoon to protest what they called an escalation of immigration enforcement across Virginia and to demand the city cut ties with federal immigration authorities.

Organized by Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice and Equality and several allied groups, the rally came in the aftermath of multiple Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detentions in Richmond over the summer. 

Advocates said the tactics — involving masked, plainclothes agents in unmarked cars — were indistinguishable from abductions and denied people any meaningful chance at due process.

“ICE kidnappings have been justified by the false narrative that only ‘the criminals’ or ‘the most dangerous people’ are being detained,” said Fernanda Diaz-Castro, a coordinator with the Virginia Defenders. Her speech was repeatedly interrupted by chants of “No Justice, No Peace” from the crowd and honks from passing drivers. 

“Not only does this divide-and-conquer rhetoric enable the dehumanization of our migrant communities, but it is also a lie disproven by ICE’s own data,” she added.

According to ICE statistics cited by Diaz-Castro, 868 people have been detained this year at Virginia’s two immigration detention facilities — Caroline Detention Center in Caroline County and Farmville Detention Center. She said 80% were classified by the agency as posing “no threat,” meaning they had no criminal record.

The rally followed a series of enforcement actions in late July, including one in which 21-year-old Ricardo Martinez-Cantero was stopped while driving to work at a construction site in South Richmond. According to advocates, his vehicle was boxed in by unmarked cars, his window was smashed and he was pulled out and restrained before being taken into custody.

Advocates said his mother was unable to reach him for hours, and that attorneys and community members could not locate him in federal custody until two days later. By that point, Martinez-Cantero had already been transferred to Louisiana for processing. By Sunday morning, he had been deported to Honduras, seven hours from his hometown.

In a letter read aloud at the rally by Ana Edwards, chair of the Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project, Martinez-Cantero described being held in crowded cells without adequate food, witnessing another detainee suffer a seizure without prompt medical care and being moved between facilities before his deportation. 

He wrote that when confronted by agents, “I felt like the weight of the world was on top of me” and that his deportation left him “alone and afraid” in a country where he fears for his safety.

ICE officials did not respond Monday to a request for comment about the July arrests or the protesters’ allegations regarding tactics and treatment of detainees.

Federal immigration enforcement has been a growing point of contention in Virginia this year. 

In February, Gov. Glenn Youngkin ordered state police and the Department of Corrections to cooperate with ICE on detainer requests and information sharing, a move his administration said would help “remove violent criminals from our communities.” 

Immigrant advocates argue the policy instead fuels fear, discouraging victims and witnesses from contacting police, and has expanded the scope of people targeted for detention.

According to recent ICE and advocacy group data, Virginia’s detention facilities are operating near their highest capacity in years. Caroline Detention Center, which has a contract to house ICE detainees, was at about 80% capacity earlier this year — its highest level since 2020.

Arrests have also been documented at or near courthouses, and during routine check-ins with immigration officers. 

Those practices have drawn criticism from lawmakers including U.S. Rep. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, who last month visited the Chesterfield County Courthouse to highlight concerns about people being detained there.

Diaz-Castro said Monday such gestures fall short. 

“It is simply not enough for politicians to hold a press conference condemning actions taken by ICE without tangible plans to back it up,” she told the crowd. “We need to see elected officials take concrete measures to protect all community members.”

At Monday’s protest, the Defenders outlined a list of changes they want city officials to pursue.

They urged Richmond to pass legislation prohibiting police and other city agencies from cooperating with ICE — a step some Virginia localities have already taken. Arlington County, for example, strengthened its “Trust Policy” in late 2024 to increase protections for immigrant communities after data showed many residents feared calling 911. Advocates said Richmond should make a similar commitment to public safety for all residents.

The group also called for an end to masked and unidentified policing. They want the city to make it illegal for officers or federal agents to carry out arrests in plain clothes, unmarked vehicles, or without visible identification, and to require judicial warrants for all immigration-related arrests.

Another demand is that Richmond refuse to renew contracts for Flock Safety surveillance cameras, which track vehicle movements and can be used by law enforcement without a warrant. Advocates argue the technology enables unchecked surveillance and can be used to target immigrant communities.

They also pressed city officials to secure rapid legal representation for detained residents, provide financial support to families who lose breadwinners to deportation, and oppose the expansion of detention facilities in Virginia. In the longer term, the group wants all existing facilities closed.

In addition, the Defenders urged elected officials to accompany residents to immigration court hearings, saying a visible presence can deter enforcement actions near courthouses. They also called for more funding to support community organizations such as the Sacred Heart Community Center, which provides language classes, legal clinics and other services to undocumented and under-documented residents.

Speakers’ remarks alternated between policy arguments and personal accounts intended to humanize the impact of enforcement.

Josue Castillo, a community organizer with New Virginia Majority and the son of Honduran immigrants, said the raids have sown fear in neighborhoods and fractured families. 

“Every single person detained by ICE is more than a number,” he said. “They are a loved one, they are a friend, they are a parent or a child. … All of them have lives and stories that were senselessly uprooted by the hands of masked cowards.”

He said parents are now having difficult conversations with children about the possibility they might not come home from work one day. “These are real stories that are happening every day in this city, the state and across the country,” Castillo said.

The Rev. Rodney Hunter of Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church in Richmond compared ICE’s tactics to those of “kidnappers” and said constituents must hold officials accountable to “protect the citizens’ rights.”

In an interview with The Mercury, Nancy Wein, co-chair of the Virginia Coalition for Human Rights, called the situation “dire” and said advocacy needed to include both lobbying lawmakers and physically showing up at courthouses to support people facing deportation.

As the rally wound down, Diaz-Castro told the crowd their work was just beginning.

“If elected officials won’t protect us — we will,” she said, her voice carrying over the noise of downtown traffic.

Protesters carried signs reading “ICE out of Richmond” and “Police state is not our fate” as they dispersed into the heat, many saying they planned to be back at City Hall for the next council meeting on Sept. 8.