CHICAGO (WLS) — Federal workers rallied Wednesday afternoon, demanding changes from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The workers want to see ICE raids end.
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They feel working for the government is becoming dangerous.
Some federal workers spent lunch hour sharing concerns about working in proximity to ICE, as actions by ICE agents have drawn criticism and protests.
The group, represented by their unions, rallied on Federal Plaza against ICE actions.
They say working in federal buildings puts them at risk.
Colin Smalley, a representative from the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, expressed concerns about how the public perceives them and the level of trust in their interactions.
Recent arrests by ICE agents sparked protests in Chicago and other parts of the country. Some have become violent.
The arrests and deportations are a mandate from the Trump administration to get criminals out of the country.
Federal government employees are uncertain about who is being arrested and for what reasons, leading to apprehensions about potential misidentification by both the public and ICE officials.
“The fact that they’ve deported citizens has me terrified,” said Luis Antonio Flores, with American Federation of Labor, Local 704.
Flores said he and colleagues have been sent home early due to protests, and he says he’s concerned his ethnicity could make him a target.
Flores, who shares a Latino background and appearance, voiced valid anxieties about the arbitrary nature of detainments, expressing concerns about the possibility of being mistakenly apprehended while commuting to work, during lunch breaks, or on the way home.
The lunch hour ended, and the workers returned back to their duties in their federal offices.
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