People protest county ICE agreement outside courthouse

More than 300 people gathered outside the Gallatin County Court House on Sunday afternoon to protest the county’s 287(g) agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The mood was jubilant at times. People made homemade signs and waved American flags on the side of the road. Drivers honked their horns, cheered and waved out the window passing by.

But the mood was also heavy and urgent.

Speakers shared sobering statistics about ICE and urged people to show up to the county commission meeting on Tuesday at 9 a.m. to voice their opposition to the agreement.

“In the time that this administration has been upending all the norms and rules, trying to erase our history, our democracy, we have all joined together and we have all become stronger,” said Katy Osterloth, one of several speakers at the protest.

“Every one of us in America, who is not part of the billionaire class, has more in common with our immigrant neighbors and our transgender neighbors than anything that could ever set us apart,” Osterloth said.

The protest was organized by Indivisible Bozeman, a progressive advocacy group, and the coalition of people coming to Tuesday’s commission meeting is organized by Community Rapid Response.

CRR aligns with Indivisible’s antiauthoritarian stance. Many protest attendees were involved with both groups.

Indivisible organizer Beth Kampschror spoke during the protest, asking attendees to donate to Bienvenidos, an organization supporting Spanish-speaking Gallatin County residents.

“Did you know that more than 80 of our immigrant neighbors were transferred out of our county jail to ICE custody last year, many with only misdemeanor charges?” Kampshror said to the crowd.

Bill Porter and Tegan Bauer spoke at the protest as well. Bauer is one of the plaintiffs in the complaint filed against the county commissioner in late April about the validity of the 287(g) agreement.

Bauer told people to contact the Sherriff and the county commissioners about 287(g), if they can’t attend the commission meeting on Tuesday.

“We are working to spread awareness about ICE activity in Montana,” Bauer said about her involvement with CRR. The organization passed around slips of paper with QR codes on it for people to learn more and get trained on how to handle ICE.

During the protests, a Bozeman-based band called the Hooligans played several songs, including “Ship of Fools” and “Uncle John’s Band” by the Grateful Dead.

The protest ended with a colorful bucket drum performance organized by Many Hands Light Work, with protest attendees performing “We Are Community” sung to the tune of “We Are Family.”