Snow Cone Sale At Missouri ICE Detention Center Called 'Insult'

LINCOLN COUNTY, MO — The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office said it's planning to sell snow cones at expected immigration detention protests the weekend of June 30 and July 1 at the county jail, which also houses an Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, detention facility. The sheriff revealed the plan after a Facebook post from the "Expect Us" activist group promised a demonstration at the jail in Troy, Missouri — drawing reaction from some demonstrators who say the snow cone sale is an insult.

The sheriff's office said the sale will benefit a youth summer camp program, and also discouraged counter-protesters, saying they don't "want to see a clash between our good citizens and this group."

That drew the ire of some members of the protesting group, who argued that they, too, are good citizens. Expect Us called the post an insult and said the event is co-hosted by the American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups, and will also include local politicians and clergy.

"We are not violent and have not had not one violent protest..." the group said, promising not to "lose focus."

Meanwhile, the sheriff's office encouraged demonstrators to purchase the frosty treat.

"It's a win for all documented and undocumented children and 100 percent of the donations will go towards the camp," the sheriff's office said. "Prove you are here to peacefully protest and put your money where your mouth is by supporting children by purchasing snow cones with a donation."

Though some people voiced their support for the impromptu fundraiser on the Sheriff's Office's Facebook page, it rankled some "Expect Us" members as well. The group already raises money for neighborhood children, it said, and the snow cones are a distraction from the issue of how immigrants are treated at the facility and around the country.

Undocumented immigrants are held at the Lincoln County Jail as they await their court dates. The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday the jail only "houses a low number of ICE detainees for short periods of time."

Protesters' rights would be respected, the sheriff's office said in its post about the snow cone sale, but warned against violence. "...if the protests become violent, the Sheriff’s Office and surrounding mutual aid will respond accordingly," the Office's Facebook post reads.

Protests are planned nationwide for June 30, including in downtown St. Louis, over the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy to prosecute all illegal border crossings. That policy, which President Trump backed away from yesterday amid scathing criticism, has led to more than 2,300 immigrant children being taken from their parents with no plan in place to return them.

The children are being housed in detention facilities that have been compared to internment camps with little or no access by the press or independent advocacy groups. In chilling audio from one facility, obtained by ProPublica, children can be heard crying for their parents.

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