News
Lots of people haven’t fallen the Tories racist lies. That’s why so many were appalled when cops mounted an immigration dawn raid in Forest Gate
By Sophie Squire
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Tuesday 01 August 2023
Issue 2866
Cop arrests anti-racist protester following immigration raid in east London on Monday this week
Police in east London were met with fury as they assisted an immigration dawn raid on Monday of this week.
Residents in the Forest Gate area told Socialist Worker they were woken early by cops attempting to arrest people. Soon a crowd of people gathered to stop the migrants from being rounded up.
One protester told Socialist Worker, “I got here when someone was already in the back of a van. These raids ruin people’s lives. They separate families and destroy homes. This is the kind of environment the Tories have built.”
Another angry resident asked the police, “How would you like it if someone came around at 6am and knocked on your door?” As police grabbed another person and forced them into a van, an anti-raids activist crawled under it to stop the police from driving the van.
One resident said, “I got here after my son walked past what was happening. I came quickly in solidarity. I saw that there was someone underneath the van. They (the police) started to move the van when he was underneath. It was scary and dangerous behaviour. They just didn’t seem to care he was under there. It seems like they are trained to be callous.”
The police then attempted to drag the activist out from under the van. They pulled on his arms and dragged his clothes from his body. At several moments the activist underneath the car screamed, “You’re hurting me,” and “Stop it”.
Other people on the sidelines pleaded that the cops were hurting the protesters’ arms and his head—but they were ignored. Instead, cops told them to step back.
After the police finally dragged the activist from underneath the van, he had scratch marks along his arms. He was then arrested and pushed into another police van. Protesters then tried to block the van from leaving.
The Newham anti-raids group reports that, in total, six people were taken away in the raid. We can expect more of these vicious raids as the Tories ramp up their racism.
https://socialistworker.co.uk/news/cops-immigration-dawn-raid-sparks-anger-in-east-london/
