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Hundreds protest ICE in Richmond after Spanberger reverses immigration order

Hundreds protest ICE in Richmond after Spanberger reverses immigration order
Video shows ICE protest in Richmond after Spanberger reverses immigration order
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RICHMOND, Va. β€” Hundreds of protesters gathered in Monroe Park in the rain on Sunday to demand immigration policy changes.

The rally came one day after newly sworn-in Gov. Abigail Spanberger reversed an executive order from former Gov. Glenn Youngkin that directed state law enforcement to enter into an agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

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The latest ICE Out! event drew protesters who outlined specific demands for Richmond and Virginia officials regarding immigration policy.

"We need to shut down all detention centers in Virginia. We need to ensure legal and financial support from the state and from the city for those detained. We must ensure that Richmond does not renegotiate any contract with Flock surveillance cameras or any other surveillance technology," one protester said.

Sunday's rally continued the momentum from last weekend's demonstration on Broad Street where around 300 people protested the deadly shooting of U.S. citizen Renee Good by a federal ICE agent in Minneapolis.

WATCH: Richmond protesters demand justice after Renee Good killed in ICE shooting

Richmond protesters demand justice after Renee Good killed in ICE shooting

Last Saturday's protest was one of hundreds planned for towns and cities across the country over the weekend, with demonstrators braving heavy rain as they assembled underneath the Maggie Walker statue to express frustration over Good's shooting.

"This is what that actually looks like, coming together for something good instead of violence and domination and terror," Te'Shaun Cleckley, one of last weekend's demonstrators, said.

Good, an Old Dominion University graduate and mother of three, was shot three times by the federal agent in an encounter captured on multiple cellphone videos that have sparked nationwide scrutiny.

The Trump Administration has defended the agent's actions, with President Trump stating Friday: "We will always be protecting ICE and we will always be protecting our border patrol and our law enforcement."

Cleckley urged fellow protesters to continue fighting for justice in Good's memory.

"Our mobilization to fight for justice and for liberation and for dignity and equity for everybody, isn't necessarily rooted in the reality that we're going to win," Cleckley said. "It's rooted in the fact that we love the world around us, we love the people around us and we love the people that are gonna come after us. So my message would be, don't stop."

Spanberger's policy reversal marks a sharp departure from Youngkin's approach, which included consistent support for ICE operations.

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