Limerick councillor Elisa O'Donovan at anti-ICE protest to 'show support' to communities

LIMERICK councillor Elisa O'Donovan says she attended an anti-ICE demonstration in New York to show solidarity with activists and university communities she says feel under threat.

The Social Democrats member is in New York as part of a delegation from Limerick City and County Council. Separate to this, she attended a protest against the controversial immigration and customs enforcement agency.

She posted an image of herself on a number of social media platforms, holding a placard reading: ‘ICE out of Schools’.

It was taken at a demonstration held at Columbia University in Manhattan.

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Councillor O’Donovan said it’s only the second time in her seven years in politics she travelled with the local authority for St Patrick’s Day.

In particular, she said she wanted to go to the USA this year to show support for people’s “current fight against their rights being taken away”.

Students across the USA are protesting because they believe ICE’s actions harm immigrant communities and spark fear on campuses. It’s something Cllr O’Donovan reflected, saying: “It has never been more important for all of us to show our support very clearly and unapologetically for the staff and students of the universities in cities across America who tell me they are living in fear of their jobs and their safety.”

She added no council money, resources and time were spent for this element of her stay in New York.