PORTLAND, Maine — Activists in Portland plan to protest the new Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office at One City Center yet again Friday.
This time, they are using art to share their message.
“It’s electronic graffiti,” Geoffrey Leighton with LumenARRT! said in a statement to NEWS CENTER Maine.
That 'graffiti' will be in the form of what organizers are claiming will be a projection of a 'detention center' in a truck.
The office has been a highly controversial issue in the city, despite the fact that ICE already had a presence there.
NEWS CENTER Maine got an exclusive inside look at the office in October.
Protesters fear the facility will be used to detain undocumented immigrants given that the space includes a small holding cell.
ICE Spokesperson John Mohan said the office space, meant to consolidate other offices already located in the city, would not focus on detaining undocumented immigrants.
Instead, officials will continue to combat things like human trafficking, child exploitation and financial wire fraud.
"At least this division at One City Center is there to protect us and I think their mission statement is something everyone could agree is good for this country," Jim O'Donnell, the facilities manager at Dirigo Management Company that oversees the property, said.
Those behind the latest demonstration insisted that their goal is to educate and inform the public.
Activist Anita Clearfield, who produced the video for the project, said she hopes it grows the movement against ICE.
"Since many Mainers don’t realize what’s happening right here in Maine, LumenARRT! has created the video projection in a truck to take this information to various locations throughout Maine to push back and say that Maine is a state that welcomes immigration,” Clearfield said.
The video projection event is scheduled from 5-8 p.m. Friday at Congress Square Park.