Torontonians gather to honour ICE victims as NDP calls for end to contracts with agency

More than 100 people gathered across from the U.S. consulate in downtown Toronto on Tuesday to honour those killed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in recent weeks.

Those in attendance placed candles, flowers, wreaths, photos and cardboard signs near the Pillars of Justice public sculpture outside the Ontario courthouse on University Avenue.

"I'm so sad, I'm so angry," Anne Rubenstein, a Toronto resident who was born in the U.S., told CBC Toronto.

Rubenstein, a historian who is now a Canadian citizen, said she has family and friends in Minneapolis, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and New York City.

"They're all so scared. They're struggling so hard to take care of each other and their neighbours. It's hard to be here and feel so far removed and so helpless," Rubenstein said.

Sy MacDougall, a Toronto resident who attended the vigil, said it's difficult to see the actions of ICE in some American cities.

"I think it's devastating to see our neighbours go through all this," MacDougall said. "It just seems so senseless and needless."

One handmade sign listed several people killed by U.S. federal agents.

The victims include, but are not limited to:

In the case of the two recent killings in Minneapolis, U.S. government officials labeled Pretti and Good domestic terrorists and said agents were acting in self-defence, even though videos on social media appeared to contradict the government's account.

Widespread protests have taken over the streets in Minneapolis as Minnesotans call for ICE to leave their state.

The vigil comes after Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles on Tuesday called for "an end to Ontario's manufacturing contract with ICE."

As previously reported by The Canadian Press, ICE recently awarded a sole-source order for 20 armoured vehicles to Brampton, Ont.,-based defence manufacturer Roshel. According to U.S. procurement documents, Roshel was awarded the order last November in a contract worth roughly $10 million Cdn.

Neither ICE nor Roshel replied to requests for comment at this time. CBC Toronto will update this story with any response.