Tuesday’s protests across the United States Inside, demonstrators passionately voiced their outrage — many in personal terms — against the Trump administration’s recently intensified immigration raids. Thousands gathered in various cities, including a significant turnout in New York City’s Foley Square, as activists rallied against the federal government’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
In New York City, demonstrators packed Foley Square, making their demands for immigrant rights and protections impossible to ignore. Further proof of the depth of discontent came in the form of large rallies held Monday in Dallas and Austin. With an estimated 1,800 protests planned nationwide on Saturday to coincide with President Trump’s military parade in Washington, D.C., the movement appears poised to grow.
Shirley, a 29-year-old worker and protester in New York, strongly denounced the Trump administration’s new campaign to militarize the workplace against workers. She said that such efforts, like the administration’s push to have the Postal Service stop providing food deliveries, go against everything America stands for.
“Mayor Adams has made it clear that he doesn’t care about working class people,” – Councilmember Shahana Hanif of Brooklyn
On Tuesday in Omaha, Nebraska, protesters took to the streets with major intensity. They channeled their frustration through a defiant chant of “Chinga la migra,” signifying their contempt for ICE. This rally came in the wake of about 80 arrests that occurred in an ICE raid at a nearby Swift & Co. Demonstrators were taken aback when a car charged through the crowd, almost hitting marchers protesting against ICE. This provocation united many in the demonstrators’ favor.
Meanwhile, a small gathering of around 50 individuals convened outside the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building in Seattle to show solidarity with protesters in Los Angeles. In Chicago, more than 3,000 people gathered outside an immigration court before marching through the Loop, drumming and chanting “No more deportations!”
Councilmember Shahana Hanif speaks to the crowd in Foley Square, echoing the sentiment shared that day by so many to support inclusion and immigrants.
“So I’m here today to remind everybody that the United States started as an immigrant country, and it’s a nation of immigrants, and I just want to make sure that I’m here for those who can’t be here today.” – Councilmember Shahana Hanif of Brooklyn
She went after Mayor Adams hard for turning his back on the working class. Beyond that, she basically charged him with complicity in all the bad ideas behind the administration’s policies.
“He does not care about any one of us. He is collaborating with Trump to use tactics. He’s complicit.” – Councilmember Shahana Hanif of Brooklyn
And just down the road in Atlanta that weekend, hundreds of protesters marched along Buford Highway in solidarity with Los Angeles, highlighting the extraordinary national scope of these protests. Their prohibitive cost hasn’t kept activists from raising their voices louder than ever to defend sanctuary city status and push for protections of international students.