A midday rally in Springdale to protest the arrest of a South American man living in Springdale by ICE agents briefly turned violent Saturday when a confrontation erupted between a passing motorist and rally participants.
The “Love Thy Neighbor” rally, in the area of Pittsburgh and School streets, was organized to protest the arrest of Randy Cordova-Flores, 36, and call for his release. They were also calling on the borough to end its agreement to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Amy Sarno, a rally organizer and member of the Allegheny Valley School Board, called on participants to remain on the sidewalks and not obstruct pedestrians or block the roads or entrances to businesses.
She also encouraged attendees to not engage with “agitators,” as their message on Valentine’s Day was one of love.
The message didn’t prevent the passing motorist from getting into several brief confrontations after he stopped his SUV in a traffic lane and got out.
After exchanging words with several protesters behind his vehicle, the man walked back to his open driver door, and a protester holding a long pole slammed it shut with his hand. After engaging with two protesters in front of his vehicle, others gathered around him. The man turned around to be face-to-face with a photographer, whom he forcefully pushed back, knocking his camera out of his hands. He then took a swing at the photographer’s face as another man tried to separate them.
The driver got back in his vehicle as a borough police officer arrived and directed the man to drive away from the location as two police vehicles followed him.
In an interview from his SUV later, he said he had not been aware of the protest and was just driving through.
The man, who declined to give his name, said he stopped and got out to exercise his own freedom of speech and to check his vehicle for damage. He said a rallygoer threatened to steal his vehicle.
Borough Officer Garrett Kimmell said the man was released pending further investigation and there were no other arrests.
Kimmell said police had statements from multiple witnesses and footage from cameras at Pittsburgh and School streets.
The rally, only briefly interrupted, continued after the incident.
Also during the rally, Kimmell said a pickup sideswiped two vehicles parked on Pittsburgh Street when the driver said he was distracted by the rally. An ambulance was called to treat a 57-year-old woman who fell.
Residents called to action
Originally from Peru, Cordova-Flores was detained after Springdale police stopped him Tuesday for allegedly failing to use a turn signal near the corner of Lincoln and James streets, according to a relative.
ICE released a statement that said Cordova-Flores “failed to report to his immigration proceedings as ordered by a judge.”As of Saturday, he had been moved from the Northern Regional Correctional Facility and Jail near Moundsville, W.Va., to the Moshannon Valley ICE Processing Center north of Phillipsburg, according to the ICE detainee locator system.
A community letter calling for his release purportedly has more than 250 signatures from the borough and surrounding communities, Sarno said.
Sarno said she has known Cordova-Flores and his family for years.
“They are all law-abiding residents, some of whom are citizens, and they all came here through legal pathways. They all work at jobs they love. They contribute to our local economy,” she said. “They are loving, vibrant people, and their precious children are our children’s classmates and beloved friends, soccer teammates and students in our schools.”
Sarno said she is heartbroken by the presence of ICE in their community, one built by immigrants.
“When a father who is pursuing a legal pathway to citizenship is detained without real cause and denied due process, and his children and family and friends are fearful they may be next, none of us is safe,” she said. “If you live in a country where you can be randomly stopped and be forced to show proof of citizenship, you are not free.
“If you live in a country where a minor traffic violation or missed court date results in being held without hearing your rights, or meeting with an attorney then being shipped to other states for a sham hearing at great financial burden, you are not free,” she said. “If you live in a country where you will be targeted and followed for simply existing in this world as a person of color, or because you speak with an accent or speak another language, you are not free.”
State Sen. Lindsey Williams said constituents have reached out to her and her office about being scared for their neighbors and families. Saying she had been a Girl Scout, Williams invoked the rule to be kind.
“If we were all just a little kinder to our friends, to our family, to our neighbors, to strangers, to ourselves, the world would be a much better place. You took that step today in standing up not only for all the immigrants that we don’t see but the people who have been taken from us, like Randy,” she said.
“Thank you for standing with his family and demanding answers and demanding that he be released from ICE custody, and be allowed to pursue his asylum claim to stay here safely in America,” Williams said. “Immigrants make us a beautiful country. Thank you all for standing in support of that today.”
The fear immigrants are living with was reflected by Judah Marroquin of Springdale Township. Her husband, Carlos, is a naturalized U.S. citizen from Guatemala but, since Cordova-Flores was detained, no longer feels safe setting foot in Springdale Borough.
“We are afraid even with his documentation, even with being a citizen and carrying copies of that documentation around,” she said. “We don’t trust that nothing would happen to him.”
Marroquin read a statement from her husband, in which he said he is a proud citizen of the United States.
“You wouldn’t know that by just looking at me,” Carlos wrote. “My wife and I have two children just like our neighbor Randy does.
“But unlike Randy’s children, mine only live in fear for now, while his are living a nightmare.
“Most of us came here for the same reason your ancestors did centuries ago. America was the promised land where we would make our dreams come true. We are here to provide for our families and to build a better life just like everybody else in this community.
“We’re not asking for handouts. We are asking to be treated as human beings, to be given a chance for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Sarno told the crowd their work would continue after the rally. She called on them to show up at municipal and school board meetings and demand that they reverse any agreements with ICE and pass resolutions or laws prohibiting such agreements.
Residents also must demand transparency about all arrests and police activity in their communities, she said.
“This does not end today,” Sarno said. “It is only the beginning.”
