Never Again Action is a Jewish political action organization in the United States that uses civil disobedience[1] and nonviolent methods to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).[2] The organization derives its name from the slogan 'never again' which is often used in reference to the Holocaust.[3] [4]
On June 24, 2019, Serena Adlerstein made an informal statement on Facebook about organizing Jews to protest immigrant detention centers in the U.S.[5] Her Facebook network was politically active and soon afterward protests were organized. On June 30, 2019, around 200 people protested at the Elizabeth Contract Detention Center in Elizabeth, New Jersey where police arrested 36 people for blocking exits.[6] In Boston, On July 2, 2019, around 1000 people protested at the Suffolk County House of Corrections after marching from the New England Holocaust Memorial,[7] 18 arrests were made and the state declined to prosecute.[8] On the 4th of July parade in Philadelphia, 33 were arrested for protesting. In July 2019, the organization blocked the doors of the ICE headquarters in Washington, D.C.[9] On July 15, around 100 protested outside the ICE office in Atlanta, Georgia resulting in two arrests.[10] On the 2019 Tisha B'Av holiday, protests were held in more than 50 locations[11] in cities including Washington, D.C., New York, Houston,[12] Salt Lake City, Boston and Baltimore.[13] In New York city, 40 protesters were arrested at an Amazon store for protesting the company's business ties with ICE.[14] [15]
| Date | City | Target | Protesters | Arrests | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6/30/19 | Elizabeth, NJ | Elizabeth Contract Detention Center | 200 | 36 | ||
| 7/2/19 | Boston, MA | Suffolk County House of Corrections | 1000 | 18 | State declined to prosecute. | |
| 7/2/19 | Central Falls, RI | Wyatt Detention Center | 200 [16] | 18 | ||
| 7/3/19 | Los Angeles, CA | Theo Lacy Detention Center | ||||
| 7/4/19 | Philadelphia, PA | ICE Field office | 33 | Blocked 4 July parade[17] | ||
| 7/5/19 | San Francisco, CA | Nancy Pelosi's Office | ||||
| 7/5/19 | Chicago, IL | Senator Dick Durbin's office | ||||
| 7/8/19 | New York City | Palantir Office | ||||
| 7/9/19 | Washington, DC | US Capitol | ||||
| 7/11/19 | New York City | Amazon AWS conference | ||||
| 7/11/19 | Buffalo, NY | ICE Field Office | ||||
| 7/12/19 | Grand Rapids, MI | ICE Field Office | ||||
| 7/14/19 | Concord, NH | NH Statehouse | ||||
| 7/15/19 | Atlanta, Georgia | ICE Field office | 100 | 2 | ||
| 7/16/19 | Washington, DC | ICE Headquarters | ||||
| 7/19/19 | Denver, CO | Federal Building | ||||
| 7/19/19 | Portland, Maine | Longfellow Square | ||||
| 7/20/19 | Pompano Beach, FL | Broward Transitional Center | ||||
| 7/21/19 | Baltimore, MD | Johns Hopkins University Stage, Artscape | ||||
| 7/21/19 | Houston, TX | Southwest Key Detention Center | ||||
| 7/23/19 | Cleveland, OH | Geauga County Detention Center | ||||
| 7/25/19 | Overland Park, KS | Rep. Sharice David's office | ||||
| 7/28/19 | Williston, VT | ICE Data Center | ||||
| 7/30/19 | Twin Cities, MN | ICE Field office | ||||
| 8/1/19 | Milwaukee, WI | ICE Field Office | Mobilized outside of the political action organization; the group formalized its connection following the action. | |||
| 8/2/19 | Portland, OR | ICE Field Office | ||||
| 8/5/19 | Los Angeles, CA | GEO Group West Coast Headquarters | ||||
| 8/6/19 | St. Louis, MO | ICE Field office | ||||
| 8/8/19 | Cincinnati, OH | Butler County Detention Center | ||||
| 8/8/19 | Seattle, WA | ICE Field Office | ||||
| 8/11/19 | New York, NY | Amazon Bookstore | Tisha B'av demonstrations | |||
| 8/11/19 | Baltimore, MD | Howard County Detention Center | ||||
| 8/12/19 | Broward County, FL | GEO Group International Headquarters | ||||
| 8/12/19 | Houston, TX | Southwest Key Detention Center | ||||
| 8/14/19 | Central Falls, RI | Wyatt Detention Center | Prison Guard drove truck into crowd of protestors.[18] | |||
| 11/24/19 | Graham, NC | Alamance County Detention Center | 300[19] | 9 |
On August 14, 2019, several hundred protesters were organized outside of a parking lot by the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, Rhode Island, when an ICE employee drove his pickup truck into the protesters.[20] [21] [22] The incident broke the leg and caused internal bleeding of a 64 year old protester.[23] Immediately afterwards, ICE guards pepper sprayed the protesters and the guard who drove the truck was not detained.[24] On August 15, 2019, the driver of the truck was placed on leave[25] and he resigned the next day.[26] The incident prompted an investigation by the Rhode Island Attorney General.[27]