ROCHESTER, N.Y. — This holiday weekend, Geneva City Hall served as a meeting point for protestors and rallygoers in response to the alleged arrests of at least five people on May 14 in Geneva.

What You Need To Know

Upstate residents continue to voice their concerns after alleged arrests took place May 14

According to the Finger Lakes Rapid Response Network, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) allegedly arrested five individuals on their way to work, one of which was eventually let go after providing citizenship

Rallygoers planned a march from Geneva City Hall to both locations where the alleged arrests occurred

“On May 14, one of our neighbors was just on his way to work peacefully,” Finger Lakes Rapid Response Network member Karen Frost-Arnold said. “He stopped at Byrne Dairy. He’s a U.S. citizen, and he was brutally swarmed by ICE. One of the other things that happened on May 14 is that there were four men in a car who were on their way to work, and ICE seemed to have been stalking them. They stopped them on the way to work. They kidnapped them and just left the car abandoned on the street.”

The demonstration was organized by Geneva Women’s Assembly, Finger Lakes Rapid Response Network and the Party for Socialism and Liberation-Upstate NY, who say they give a voice to those who may not feel seen or heard during this time.

“When you rip somebody away from their family, it leaves a hole,” Frost-Arnold said. “Sometimes we’re finding that whole families are devastated because income is being lost. Kids can’t go to school. People are afraid to go to get groceries. So we really need to come together as a community and resistance to ICE. And the government doesn’t care about working people. So we have to come together to stand up together to fight for our community. And that’s what we’re doing by providing all of this support.”

“If not me, who, if not now, then when,” Finger Lakes Rapid Response Network member Nick Brydels said. “You always respect everybody, no matter what they look like, what they sound like, any of that kind of stuff.”

Advocates are trying to shine a light on those detained and raise awareness about the ongoing legislation taking place behind the scenes.

“My dad was a state trooper for 20 years and he never had to mask while he was doing his work,” participant Dina Strasser said. “I think it’s just common sense. It’s not even just a law that needs to pass right now.”

As individuals like Strasser and Trinity Church priest Columba Salamony work firsthand with those facing fear.

“I currently teach as a new language teacher,” Strasser said. “So I’m working with immigrant families and their students all the time. So this is an issue that’s really personal to me. This is something I feel so strongly about that you just have to get out here and do what you do, which you can do beyond working with the kids in the classroom.”

“I’ve been doing work with immigrants, migrants and refugees for about 20 years,” Salamony said. “My first grown-up job was in refugee resettlement. So this has been something I’ve been doing all of my adult life. And so it’s a continuation of both the work that I started 20 years ago and then my work as a priest…so these protests were always at marches all over the country…[it] really showed that the world can slow down and pay attention to the most vulnerable people among us. As a priest, that’s all part of my vocation. And it has continued to grow and to flourish in my life and in ways that help me to show up for these kinds of things.”

Their chants echoed on the streets near the two locations of the alleged arrests. Rallygoers say they hope to be more than just an advocate or a good neighbor, but also a good person.

“Just giving a damn about humans, really,” Brydels said. “I think that we all have a right to be here. There’s no reason that we should be using our federal funding to terrorize people. Especially when there are real needs that can be addressed.”

Spectrum News 1 reached out to ICE representatives about the alleged events that took place on May 14 and has not yet heard back.