Protests ignited in Los Angeles due to immigration enforcement raids have driven President Donald Trump to deploy National Guard troops and Marines. These demonstrations have begun to expand nationwide, with additional protests scheduled for the upcoming weekend.
People have taken to the streets from Seattle to Austin and Washington, D.C., expressing opposition to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Protesters have chanted slogans and brandished signs, causing traffic disruptions in city centers and near federal buildings. While most protests have remained peaceful, some have escalated, leading to confrontations with law enforcement, resulting in arrests and the use of chemical agents to disperse demonstrators.
In the days ahead, activists are organizing even larger rallies. “No Kings” events are set to occur across the country on Saturday, coinciding with Trump’s planned military parade in Washington.
The Trump administration said it would continue its program of raids and deportations despite the protests. “ICE will continue to enforce the law,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted Tuesday on social media.
A look at some protests across the country:
Austin
Four Austin police officers were injured and authorities used chemical irritants to disperse a crowd of several hundred demonstrators Monday night that moved between the state Capitol and a federal building that houses an ICE office. State officials had closed the Capitol to the public an hour early in anticipation of the protest.
Austin police used pepper spray balls and state police used tear gas when demonstrators began trying to deface the federal building with spray paint. The demonstrators then started throwing rocks, bottles and other objects at a police barricade, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said. Three officers were injured by “very large” rocks and another was injured while making an arrest, she said.
Austin police arrested eight people, and state police arrested five more. Davis said her department is prepared for Saturday’s planned protest downtown.
“We support peaceful protest,” Davis said. “When that protest turns violent, when it turns to throwing rocks and bottles … that will not be tolerated. Arrests will be made.”
Dallas
A protest that drew hundreds to a rally on a city bridge lasted for several hours Monday night before Dallas police declared it an “unlawful assembly” and warned people to leave or face possible arrest.
Dallas police initially posted on social media that officers would not interfere with a “lawful and peaceful assembly of individuals or groups expressing their First Amendment rights.” But officers later moved in and media reported seeing some in the crowd throw objects as officers used pepper spray and smoke to clear the area. At least one person was arrested.
“Peaceful protesting is legal,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, posted on X. “But once you cross the line, you will be arrested.”
San Francisco
About 200 protesters gathered outside the San Francisco Immigration Court on Tuesday after activists said several arrests were made there.
That gathering came after protests on Sunday and Monday swelled to several thousand demonstrators and saw more than 150 arrests with outbreaks of violence that included vandalized buildings, and damaged cars, police vehicles and buses. Police said two officers suffered non-life threatening injuries.
Most of the arrests were Sunday night.
“Individuals are always free to exercise their First Amendment rights in San Francisco, but violence, especially against SFPD officers, will never be tolerated,” San Francisco police posted on social media.
Police described Monday’s march as “overwhelmingly peaceful,” but said “two small groups broke off and committed vandalism and other criminal acts.” Several people were detained or arrested, police said.
Seattle
About 50 people gathered outside the immigration court in downtown Seattle on Tuesday, chanting with drums and holding up signs that said, “Free Them All; Abolish ICE” and “No to Deportations.” The protest was initially peaceful but protesters began putting scooters in front of building entryways before police arrived.
Mathieu Chabaud, with Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Washington, said they were there in solidarity with the Los Angeles protesters, “and to show that we’re opposed to ICE in our community.”
Legal advocates who normally attend the immigration court hearings as observers and to provide support to immigrants were not allowed inside the building. Security guards also turned away the media. The hearings are normally open to the public.
Chicago
In Chicago, a small crowd gathered Tuesday outside immigration court in downtown and called for an end to Trump administration immigration sweeps and military presence in California.
“With the militarization of Los Angeles it’s time to get out and let Trump know this is unacceptable,” said retiree Gary Snyderman. “All of this is so unconstitutional.”
The group then marched through downtown streets drumming and chanting, “No more deportations!”
Santa Ana
In Santa Ana near Los Angeles, armored vehicles blocked the road Tuesday morning leading into the Civic Center, where federal immigration officers and numerous city and county agencies have their offices.
Workers swept up plastic bottles and broken glass from Monday’s protests. Tiny shards of red, black and purple glass littered the pavement. Nearby buildings and the sidewalk were tagged with profane graffiti slogans against ICE and had Trump’s name crossed out. A worker rolled paint over graffiti on a wall to block it out.
National Guard officers wearing fatigues and carrying rifles prevented people from entering the area unless they worked there.
While a small group kept up their demonstration Tuesday, several counterprotesters showed up. One man wore a red T-shirt and Make America Great Again cap as he exchanged words with the crowd opposing the raids.
Boston
Hundreds of people gathered in Boston’s City Hall Plaza on Monday to protest the detainment of union leader David Huerta Friday during immigration raids in Los Angeles.
Protesters held signs reading “Massachusetts stands with our neighbors in Los Angeles” and “Protect our immigrant neighbors,” and shouted, “Come for one, come for all” and “Free David, free them all.”
Huerta, president of Service Employees International Union California, was released from federal custody later Monday on $50,000 bond.
“An immigrant doesn’t stand between an American worker and a good job, a billionaire does,” said Chrissy Lynch, President of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO.
Washington, D.C.
Several unions gathered Monday in Washington to protest the raids and rally for Huerta’s release, and marched past the Department of Justice building.
Among the demonstrators was U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington state.
“Enough of these mass ICE raids that are sweeping up innocent people,” Jayapal said. “As we see people exercising the constitutional rights to peacefully use their voices to speak out against this injustice, they are being met with tear gas and rubber bullets.” ___
Associated Press writers Martha Bellisle in Seattle, Sophia Tareen in Chicago, Leah Willingham in Boston and Amy Taxin in Santa Ana, California contributed.
