Tensions over U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have escalated after weeks of turbulent protests in Minneapolis.
WASHINGTON—One year into the second Trump administration, demonstrations against a presidency marked by intensified enforcement against illegal immigration took place across the United States, including the nation’s capital.
On the evening of Jan. 20, a few hundred protesters took to the chilly streets of Washington to denounce U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Led by a Marxist group, the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), and escorted by law enforcement, the demonstrators marched over a mile, ending just outside Lafayette Square near the White House.
Posts on social media showed actions planned for Jan. 20 throughout the country, from New York City’s Bryant Park to Chicago’s Federal Plaza and Los Angeles City Hall.
At least some were organized in conjunction with the Free America Walk Out, an event partnering with the Women’s March, and with affiliates of the American Civil Liberties Union and Indivisible, among other organizations.
A website maintained by the Women’s March lists more than a dozen Jan. 20 demonstrations in Washington and nearby communities, including the protest involving the PSL.
Twin Cities Heat Up
The marches and walkouts come just weeks after driver Renee Good was shot and killed in her car by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jonathan Ross on Jan. 7 in Minneapolis.
Video from the incident shows Good suddenly accelerate her vehicle toward Ross, who then fired repeatedly at her. Federal officials said the officer was hit by the vehicle and opened fire in self-defense.
That incident occurred amid a surge of ICE agents in the Twin Cities, spurred at least in part by investigations into alleged welfare fraud committed primarily by Somali immigrants.
In the days after the Good shooting, anti-ICE demonstrators turned out in Minneapolis by the tens of thousands. Some protested and even attacked hotels they believed were hosting immigration law enforcement. Others have targeted what they believe to be ICE operations by blowing whistles to alert people of the officers’ presence.
On Jan. 18, chanting demonstrators disrupted a service at a St. Paul church where an ICE field director is a pastor. They were joined by former CNN anchor Don Lemon, who livestreamed the event.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon announced plans to charge those who rushed into the Cities Church building, suggesting that charges could potentially be leveled under the FACE Act and the Ku Klux Klan Act.
ICE has continued to take action in the area amid the rallies and after a Jan. 16ruling from a federal judge restricting agents’ use of pepper spray and other non-lethal weapons against non-violent demonstrators.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced on Jan. 19 that DHS agents had apprehended more than 10,000 illegal aliens convicted of crimes.
