Posted on September 17, 2019

Dozens of ICE Protesters Arrested in Midtown

Craig McCarthy, New York Post, September 15, 2019

Hundreds of protesters in New York are blocking off 5th Avenue outside the Microsoft store, while others block the entrance.

Dozens of protesters were arrested during a sit-in at Microsoft’s Midtown store over the tech giant’s handling of web services for the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The NYPD said 24 men and 52 women were charged with obstructing traffic after blocking cars outside the company’s flagship shop on 5th Avenue between 53rd and 54th streets on Saturday.

“By knowingly and willingly providing technology support to ICE, Microsoft Corporation is colluding with ICE and its racist mission to tear apart families, and mistreat children,” said Andy Ratto, an organizer with Close the Camps NYC. “This is a moment of life or death for 11 million undocumented people in the United States, and we will not remain silent as American corporations profiteer from — and enable — human suffering.”

The activists slammed the tech company for making money from ICE by providing the agency with cloud services.

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