Protestors took to the streets in downtown Chicago early Tuesday in an anti-deportation rally organizers say will not stop until Latino families are allowed to live in peace.

Demonstrators blocked traffic for more than an hour, along the busy Congress Parkway at LaSalle Street, resulting in the arrests of at least 12 protesters.

"We had a civil disobedience protest and those demonstrations will continue as long as we are the targets of immigration officials," Not1More Deportation activist Rosi Carrasco told Latin Post in a phone interview. "We were organized to do action because every single day in Chicago and across America we have seen deportations."

Protesters Call for Dismantling of ICE

On Tuesday, the Chicago Tribune reported protesters stretched across the inbound lanes of Congress Parkway, holding a banner that read "Dismantle ICE. Defund the police."

"ICE" refers to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which has offices on that block in Chicago. The agency has been conducting the nationwide deportation raids.

As one man was hauled away by police, young children in the crowd chanted, "We love you; we've got your back."

Still others were more demonstrative, chanting vulgarities like "F*ck the police," as the crowd began to swell, according to The Tribune. Beyond the verbal sparring, the protests remained peaceful.

"I am here to say that there needs to be an end to raids and deportations," Francisco Canuto told Not1More Deportation.

ICE Tactics Come Under Fire

Canuto claimed his home was recently raided by ICE agents who were looking for someone else.

"Agents entered my home under false pretenses, they fingerprinted me and my roommates, and took me into detention," he said. "I spent 13 awful days in a detention center that I don't wish on anyone."

As it is, Not1More Deportation policy director Tania Unzueta insists the federal government needlessly spends more on immigration than all other law enforcement initiatives combined.

"We have to invest in developing and nurturing our communities not deporting and incarcerating them," she said. "If these agencies have endless resources, they will find endless ways to target and harm our families. They need to be defunded and dismantled."

Later, leaders from the group Organized Communities Against Deportations (OCAD) called for an end to all raids, not just those that target Central American families.

Other organizations participating in the action included Assata's Daughters, Black Youth Project (BYP) 100, Fearless Leading by the Youth (FLY), Palestinian Youth in Action, Centro Autonomo, People's Response Team and the Chicago Religious Leadership Network (CRLN).

"Undocumented people in Chicago and nationally are living in fear daily of being taken from their homes and away from their families," Assata's Daughters said in a statement. "We, as Black American community organizers, can relate to that fear. Our communities experience that fear when Chicago Police Officers patrol our neighborhoods, stop and frisk us, occupy our schools, and arrest us in mass. Our struggles are distinct but connected. When enforcement is overfunded, that is money that is not being spent on services that actually keep us safe."

The protest was at least the second held by local activist over the last several weeks. Latin Post previously reported pro-immigration advocates gathered at the nearby Daley Plaza for a march through the Loop.

"Leave working families alone," chanted the Rev. Jose Landaverde. "They are just working to raise their children to give them a better life."

Like Carrasco, protesters vowed that they wouldn't stop the protests until all the deportation raids had completely ended.

"We're fighting for our life," said Carrasco. "This is so hard."

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