Support The Daily Orange this holiday season! The money raised between now and the end of the year will go directly toward aiding our students. Donate today.

Paul Welch stands at the corner of South Salina and East Fayette Streets in downtown Syracuse on Thursday afternoon. As the wind nearly knocks him over, Welch proudly holds up a sign reading “Make room for immigrants and refugees.”

He attended the weekly pop-up protest organized by the Syracuse Immigrant and Refugee Defense Network (SIRDN) because he believes anti-immigrant rhetoric is anti-American. As director of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse’s Social Action Ministry, Welch, 79, has been an activist for nearly 60 years.

“America is made up of all different kinds of people,” he said. “There’s been pushback pretty much throughout the history of the United States, but what’s made us great is that all the people of everywhere come to America to love it.”

Welch is one of several Syracuse activists taking to the streets to show support for the immigrant community as the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement continues its presence in central New York and nationwide — whether it be through sharing “know your rights” materials or hosting ICE watches.

SIRDN, a volunteer-led group advocating for immigration justice, began in 2017 as the Rapid Response Network. Its Rapid Response Team was relaunched in January after inactivity during COVID-19, and SIRDN volunteer Annegret Schubert said the team has become SIRDN’s most important role.

For years, only 15 to 20 people out of the organization’s 50 group chat members would attend SIRDN’s general meetings, Schubert said. But ever since President Donald Trump’s win last November, the group has at least quadrupled in size.

“We have about 500 people on our email list right now, and I think we had about 100 to 150 last fall,” Schubert said. “That didn’t really happen with us running out in the street saying, ‘We need you. We need you.’ That’s because people came to us.”

ICE has arrested at least 162 people in Onondaga County during Trump’s second term 10 months — with 100 of those arrests falling between August and October, according to data provided by ICE to the Deportation Data Project analyzed by syracuse.com.

Federal agents detained owners of two Syracuse Chinese restaurant owners in September and three SUNY Upstate Environmental Services Department workers in November. ICE has also been spotted near Syracuse Soapworks in November and five blocks away from Syracuse University’s campus in October.

SIRDN also sponsors community learning sessions and routinely posts alerts of ICE activity on its social media pages. The group also shares Go Fund Me pages to families of detainees.

Claire Harrison | Senior Staff Writer

As ICE activity increases in central New York, many Syracuse community activists have protested to combat the deportations and arrests.

An immigrant herself, Schubert first got involved with immigration activism in 2018 after she retired and wanted to focus on volunteering for a cause she viewed as important. As arrests and detentions increase, Schubert said she feels it’s important for those with privilege to stand in solidarity with the immigrant community.

“I have time, I have money, I have a roof over my head, I have food, I have children who live in environments that are safe,” Schubert said. “Those are all things that contribute to me waking up in the morning and saying, ‘What can I do to help the rest of humankind today?’”

For Jim McKeever, 68, participating in demonstrations hosted by SIRDN gives him purpose. Formerly a writer for The Post-Standard and SUNY Upstate Medical University, McKeever said stories from his brother’s pro bono work with undocumented immigrants in California led him to be an activist during the first Trump administration.

“If I didn’t do this work, what would I do? Worry about my lawn? No. I would probably go crazy just seeing it play out every day,” McKeever said. “Every time I get on Instagram, there’s another masked thug throwing a helpless person to the ground and then lying about why they did it. We have to do something.”

McKeever began taking trips to the border with humanitarian groups in 2019, experiences that he details on his Substack. He said the people he met on these trips were the “bravest” and “most resilient” he’s ever met.

“They were so grateful for our solidarity, not our charity,” McKeever said. “Our lives, our well being is tied up in their well being. It’s not just this white savior crap. We need everybody. Humanity needs other humanity.”

Other groups such as the New York Immigration Coalition, the Greater Syracuse Labor Council and the CNY Solidarity Coalition have also hosted rallies and protests across Onondaga County.

In October, thousands gathered in Dewitt as part of nationwide “No Kings” protests. A month later, nearly 200 people gathered at the James M. Hanley Federal Building to demand the release of two Upstate Medical University employees detained by ICE.

Several elected officials have attended these protests, including incoming Syracuse Mayor Sharon Owens, New York Sen. Rachel May and City Auditor Alexander Marion.

Some feel elected officials could be doing more to support immigrants and advocacy groups in the city. Schubert said while it’s great that elected officials have attended protests, their response to ongoing immigration enforcement is “complex.”

“They are not doing everything we want them to do,” Schubert said. “They are not standing up as strongly for New York For All the way we want them to. Because what’s happening between police and or sheriffs and federal law enforcement is unconscionable.”

Marion said he feels limited in what he can do to support the anti-ICE movement in his role as city auditor, but keeps regular contact with labor unions, the Workers’ Center of Central New York and legal aid groups.

“I’m here to provide support, logistics and help give these folks a platform so I can be the person … of some privilege who can go into some more exclusive spaces,” Marion said. “I’m going to hold the door open and make sure these folks are coming along with me and their work is being amplified to federal policy makers, business leaders and people who need to hear that message.”

Marion said activist groups and entities need donations and volunteers, whether that’s intervening if there is a threat of ICE or even just helping someone cook a meal.

Schubert said she hopes more young people will turn out for events, especially ones that require no training.

“Let’s fight together. This is our fight. This is our fight. Solidarity is a fight that goes together, young and old,” Schubert said.

Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.

Published on December 10, 2025 at 12:06 am