Community forms ‘human chain’ to stop ICE agents from seizing neighbour

Neighbours provide food, water and petrol to allow man and boy to avoid being detained

Neighbours and activists in Tennessee gathered to support a man targeted by US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, forming a “human chain” to block the officials from seizing him.

The agents had followed a man home in Heritage, a community near Nashville, on Monday, where they attempted to detain him. He was accompanied by a 12-year-old boy.

The full party was met with neighbours and activists from an immigration support group, who blocked the agents’ access to the man, NBC News reports.

They provided food, water, and petrol to the man and the boy while protecting them, ensuring that they could stay in their car as long as necessary.

The agents called officers from the Metro Nashville Police Department, who arrived with blue lights flashing in two MNPD vehicles and parked alongside the agents in front of man’s home.

Hours later, the police officers and ICE agents relented, abandoning the home.

After they left, neighbours stayed and formed a human chain from the van to the house to protect the man and the boy as they went safely inside.

“What happened this morning shows how deeply rooted immigrants are in our community. Neighbours reported that they were worried and outraged because some had known the family for more than a decade,” said the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition in a statement.

“When multiple law enforcement vehicles surround a home and conduct this kind of operation it can be deeply traumatizing, not only for the young boy in the vehicle, but for the entire community.”

Neighbours told local media they had known the man and boy’s family for years, telling one outlet that ICE “picked the wrong community on the wrong day.” ​

The ICE agents had attempted to stop the unidentified man’s white van in Hermitage early on Monday morning.

When the driver did not stop for the agents, who were driving unmarked vehicles, they followed him home, according to a statement from the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. Once there, they blocked his van in the driveway.

It was this action, according to TIRRC, that caught the attention of the man’s neighbours, who alerted the organisation.

They sent staffers to ensure that everyone in support of the man knew how to legally handle the situation.

“ICE doesn’t have the authority to enter your home or private property without a warrant signed by a judge,” TIRRC explained in their statement. “The majority of the time, ICE only has an administrative warrant — not a judicial one.”

In light of the extraordinary display of support, the group is urging people throughout the US to keep graphics displaying what to do during an encounter with an ICE agent on hand. As attempted raids continue throughout the US, the instructions have become vital knowledge for everyday people.

To many, both online and in the area, the moment served as a reminder of the ability of a community to protect its vulnerable members.

“It was striking to watch neighbours deliver food, water, and gasoline to help their neighbour stay in his car,” Nashville Councilman Bob Mendes, who ventured to the scene for part of the incident, wrote in a statement.

“Having watched this play out, I have a new appreciation for the practical difficulty cities face in dealing with ICE civil immigration enforcement.”