UPDATED: August 1, 2018, at 1:34 p.m.

Police arrested 10 protesters on trespassing charges after they refused to leave the lobby of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in downtown Syracuse on Tuesday, according to a release from the Syracuse Police Department.

Several local activist groups, including the Syracuse Refugee and Immigrant Defense Network, organized the rally to protest the separation of families in recent months, according to a Facebook page for the protest. A small ICE office is housed in the building at 401 S. Salina St.

Syracuse police responded to a disturbance call at about 1 p.m. reporting that 50 to 100 people were inside the building’s lobby, per the release. By 5:45 p.m., two police officers remained outside the building, but protesters had dispersed.

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Maria Norris, a senior film major at Syracuse University, was one of the protesters arrested Tuesday. She said the group lined up near the entrance to the ICE office for about 15 minutes before several police officers stormed out of the office, warning the protesters that they were trespassing and would be arrested.  

Norris said the U.S. government’s policy of separating immigrant families motivated her to attend the “Abolish ICE” rally.

“Hearing about the children being taken from their parents, the children that still haven’t been reunited with their families … it really weighs on me heavily,” she said.

An additional protest was planned outside the Syracuse police station during an arraignment for the protesters arrested, according to a GoFundMe page created to raise bond money for the 10 people. Donors had contributed more than $2,500 to the fundraiser by 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

This post has been updated with additional reporting. 

Published on August 1, 2018 at 9:25 am

Contact Casey: casey@dailyorange.com | @caseydarnell_