Will US protests escalate amid more deployed ICE agents?
(NewsNation) — Leaders in some Democratic-led cities are bracing for an increased presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as demonstrations protesting the Trump administration's immigration enforcement policies and ICE tactics continue across the country, with more planned for this weekend.
Published reports on Wednesday stated that specialized ICE tactical teams would be sent to Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle, New York and Northern Virginia after anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles reached a 'tipping point' with hundreds being arrested.
More than two dozen protests nationwide this week have led to arrests as demonstrators rally against migrants being taken into federal custody. Federal officials insist ICE enforcement efforts will continue across the country despite the rallies, as advocates for migrant rights push back against what they say are deceptive practices being used by ICE.
Inside largest ICE workplace operation in Omaha: NewsNation exclusive
'We will not be deterred,' Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told NewsNation this week.
More protests, including hundreds of No Kings events, are slated for Saturday amid reports that ICE is ramping up enforcement efforts, including during workplace raids in cities with sanctuary policies in place. That has raised concerns among some city leaders that clashes between federal agents and protesters, like those in Los Angeles, could spread.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom predicted Tuesday that other left-leaning areas of the country could be targeted by the Trump administration by using similar tactics.
'What we have seen in Los Angeles is really not about immigration, this is not about policy, this is about power,' Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said Wednesday. 'We have a tyrant in the White House that has a complete disregard for our Constitution and the dismissing of our democracy.'
ICE is prepared to deploy Special Response Teams to several Democratic-run cities to continue to carry out immigration enforcement practices, according to NBC News. No timeline for the troops being sent to those cities has been laid out.
ICE did not respond to a request for comment from NewsNation on Wednesday. However, Chicago city officials confirmed on Wednesday that they had been alerted on Tuesday that agents had been given notice that they would be sent out within the next 48 hours.
Johnson said his main priority is keeping everyone safe and that the city's practice of 'constitutional policing' would continue. Johnson said that because Trump is 'determined to insert chaos', the city's response would be to 'provide calm and structure'.
'We have an absolutely criminalized approach towards governance, and this president clearly continues to show how low he will stoop in order to protect the interests of a handful of people,' Johnson said.
Johnson said at a news conference that he has been in contact with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and other leaders about a unified stance but said that the city and state are committed to protecting the right of people to assemble and to help preserve their constitutional rights.
2 charged for alleged Molotov cocktail possession at LA protests
Johnson said that the city's strategic approach will remain in place Saturday when No Kings protests are scheduled both in Chicago's downtown district as well as in several suburbs. He said that demonstrators who act 'outside of their constitutional protections' would be held responsible and accountable.
Johnson's comments followed demonstrations that took place in Chicago, where 17 people were taken into custody, including four who were charged with felonies, NewsNation affiliate WGN reported.
No Kings organizers did not respond to an email from NewsNation seeking comment about plans to keep demonstrations safe amid concerns of increased ICE presence in cities like Chicago.
Johnson said that the Chicago Police will continue to protect local residents and protesters alike while also adhering to the Illinois Trust Act, which prevents local officers from cooperating with federal immigration officials.
But other city leaders hope that despite the tensions felt in places like Los Angeles, demonstrations can remain peaceful while getting their message across.
'The level of rage, the level of righteous anger that (protesters) might feel out there is genuine,' Chicago Ald. Andre Vasquez told NewsNation. 'So, trying to make sure that people don't feel further oppressed while also recognizing that there's clearly a strategy of having crowds look like they're chaotic is how the (Trump) administration is moving, it's very challenging to try to communicate that.'
In New York City, where 86 people were arrested by city police officers on Tuesday during anti-ICE protests that involved about 2,500 participants, Mayor Eric Adams said that the escalation of protests in Los Angeles is 'unacceptable' and would not be tolerated if attempted in New York.
'I understand that some New Yorkers may be angry, afraid, and I understand, NYC will always be a place to peacefully protest, but we will not allow lawlessness,' Adams said, according to NewsNation affiliate Pix11.
Earlier this week, 24 people were arrested during a sit-in at Trump Tower in New York, while seven people were taken into custody at another demonstration, three of whom were criminally charged. Yet with more protests planned in the coming days, city officials do not expect things to rise to the level they have in Los Angeles, an Adams spokeswoman told NewsNation on Wednesday.
The spokeswoman said the city has not received any notification that additional ICE agents would be arriving in New York in the coming days. She added that the city does not anticipate involving the National Guard or the U.S. military being sent to New York, both of which have been called into action in Los Angeles by the Trump administration.
The mayor's spokeswoman said that the city has made it clear to the federal government that no federal assistance is required to help maintain law and order and that city officials do not expect protests to escalate out of control.
'There's no invasion': California AG on Los Angeles protests
'What we're seeing in (Los Angeles) and what the feds are doing over there, we're not seeing that here. The NYPD has it under control,' she told NewsNation. 'The NYPD is literally prepared for anything.'
Despite hearing rumors and media reports about ICE tactical teams being sent to Seattle, city officials told NewsNation on Wednesday that they have not yet received official word about increased federal agents arriving.
In a statement sent to NewsNation on Wednesday, Mayor Bruce Harrell said that the city remains in close contact with the governor's and state attorney general's offices, as well as other local officials, to coordinate a response should ICE tactical teams arrive in Seattle in the coming days.
Harrell called the Trump administration's actions in Los Angeles 'an extreme and egregious overreach of federal authority meant to escalate tensions' and to distract from the promises Trump hasn't lived up to. The mayor said he is working with Seattle's police department to prepare for any demonstrations that may arise.
'Seattle strongly supports the First Amendment rights of our residents, and we encourage residents to stand up for their values peacefully,' Harrell said. 'There is no room for violence. Violence and property damage are exactly what Trump wants to spin his false narrative of our city.'
After anti-ICE protests took place in Austin and San Antonio and with more demonstrations planned, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced plans on social media to dispatch the Texas National Guard to those cities.
Abbott wrote on X on Tuesday that the troops will use 'every tool and strategy' to help law enforcement maintain order. Abbott wrote that while peaceful protest is legal, harming others and damaging or destroying property will lead to arrests.
Abbott's declaration followed a demonstration earlier this week at the state capitol building in Austin, which was attended by 500 people and in which local and state authorities used pepper spray and flashbang grenades. More than a dozen people were arrested, according to reports.
This weekend's planned protests include No Kings demonstrations that are part of the nationwide collection of protests that decry the Trump administration's policies.
The deployment of the National Guard, which will remain on standby, is an attempt to prevent civil unrest from taking place, an Abbott spokesman told NewsNation on Wednesday.
'Peaceful protests are part of the fabric of our nation, but Texas will not tolerate the lawlessness we have seen in Los Angeles,' the spokesman, Andrew Mahaleris, said Wednesday. 'Anyone engaging in acts of violence or damaging property will be swiftly held accountable to the full extent of the law.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
34 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Trump moves to merge wildland firefighting into single force, despite ex-officials warning of chaos
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered government agencies to consolidate their wildland firefighting into a single program, despite warnings from former federal officials that it could be costly and increase the risk of catastrophic blazes. The order aims to centralize firefighting efforts now split among five agencies and two Cabinet departments. Trump's proposed budget for next year calls for the creation of a new Federal Wildland Fire Service under the U.S. Interior Department. That would mean shifting thousands of personnel from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service — where most federal firefighters now work — with fire season already underway . The administration has not disclosed how much the change could cost or save. Trump in his order cited the devastating Los Angeles wildfires in January as highlighting a need for a quicker response to wildfires. 'Wildfires threaten every region, yet many local government entities continue to disregard commonsense preventive measures,' the order said. The Trump administration in its first months temporarily cut off money for wildfire prevention work and reduced the ranks of federal government firefighters through layoffs and retirement. The order makes no mention of climate change, which Trump has downplayed even as warming temperatures help stoke bigger and more destructive wildfires that churn out massive amounts of harmful pollution. More than 65,000 wildfires across the U.S. burned almost 9 million acres (3.6 million hectares) last year. Organizations representing firefighters and former Forest Service officials say it would be costly to restructure firefighting efforts and cause major disruptions in the midst of fire season. A group that includes several former Forest Service chiefs said in a recent letter to lawmakers that consolidation of firefighting work could 'actually increase the likelihood of more large catastrophic fires, putting more communities, firefighters and resources at risk.' Another destructive fire season is expected this year, driven by above-normal temperatures for most of the country, according to federal officials. A prior proposal to merge the Forest Service and Interior to improve firefighting was found to have significant drawbacks by the Congressional Research Service in a 2008 report. But the idea more recently got bipartisan support, with California Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla and Montana Republican Sen. Tim Sheehy sponsoring legislation that is similar to Trump's plan. Before his election last year, Sheehy founded an aerial firefighting company that relies heavily on federal contracts. In a separate action aimed at wildfires, the Trump administration last month rolled back environmental safeguards around future logging projects on more than half U.S. national forests. The emergency designation covers 176,000 square miles (455,000 square kilometers) of terrain primarily in the West but also in the South, around the Great Lakes and in New England. Most of those forests are considered to have high wildfire risk, and many are in decline because of insects and disease .
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Alex Padilla Tears Up Recounting His Kristi Noem Detainment on MSNBC: ‘It's All BS Coming From Trump'
California Sen. Alex Padilla appeared on MSNBC's 'The Beat' for his first interview following his forceful removal from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's Los Angeles press conference Thursday, giving correspondents a glimpse behind the viral moment. Padilla was forcefully removed by FBI agents and other plainclothes officials from the event after attempting to ask Noem a question about the Trump administrations ICE actions in L.A. Video footage shows the senator being pushed out of the room, pinned to the ground and being placed in handcuffs. NBC correspondent Jacob Soboroff pressed the senator on what made him particularly emotional speaking with the press pool outside after the incident. The Padilla came from a family of day laborers in the San Fernando Valley, and said this administration's target on immigrants, especially in L.A., feels personal. 'I understand their plight. I understand their struggle. I understand their sacrifice to just find the American dream, a good opportunity, maybe a good job, the ability to raise a family, and have the next generation have it a little bit better than you did,' Padilla told MSNBC with tears in his eyes. 'All the talk about immigration, you know, the — the misinformation, disinformation about, you know, invasions and insurrections, it's all B.S. coming from Trump.' Soboroff noted that the senator was raised by a father, who was a short order cook, and a mother, who was a housekeeper. After studying at MIT, Padilla returned to his hometown to rise the ranks in the public sector and serve his community. He told MSNBC that the Trump administration's targeting of immigrants is misguided. 'If all they were going to do is target violent, dangerous criminals, true threats to our national security, that'd be one thing. Nobody has a disagreement there,' he said. 'What's happening in practice is so many — yes, undocumented — immigrants, but who are otherwise law-abiding, peaceful and hardworking, to think this administration changed policy for federal agents to enter schools, houses of worship, let alone workplaces? If immigrants are that bad, why is that where you're looking for them?' The senator also responded to Noem's claims that he 'lunged' at her during the press conference. 'That's ridiculous. It's a lie, but par for the course for this administration, right?' he said. Padilla was down the hall in the federal building waiting for a scheduled briefing that had been pushed back because of the Secretary of Homeland Security's press conference, he said. The senator said he was escorted into the conference room to listen, but he had to speak up. 'At one point, it was just too much to take,' he said. 'This notion that Donald Trump and Kristi Noem have to come in and rescue the people of Los Angeles from Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass? It was too much. And so I spoke up. I introduced myself and said I had a question.' Padilla also told Soboroff and MSNBC host Ari Melber that he had an opportunity to speak with Noem, but he did not get an answer to his question or an apology. 'If this can happen to a United States senator for having the audacity to ask a question of the secretary of homeland security,' he explained, 'then just imagine what can happen to anybody in the country.' Watch the full interview below: The post Alex Padilla Tears Up Recounting His Kristi Noem Detainment on MSNBC: 'It's All BS Coming From Trump' | Video appeared first on TheWrap.
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Geraldo Rivera: Sen. Padilla's removal a ‘bad look'
(NewsNation) — NewsNation correspondent-at-large Geraldo Rivera said Thursday he believes Democratic California Sen. Alex Padilla's removal from a DHS press briefing in Los Angeles was rough handling and was a 'bad look' for the law enforcement officers who restrained him. 'The United States senator has a right, even if it's a stunt, to get in front of a camera and have a dialogue with Kristi Noem,' Rivera said. Video shared of the incident shows Padilla being restrained by law enforcement and forced out of the room and him later being pushed to the ground and handcuffed. In the video, Padilla is seen interrupting the conference held by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, looking to ask her questions. FBI head Patel suing MSNBC columnist over nightclub hopping claims DHS accused Padilla of failing to identify himself and stated that he 'lunged toward' Noem. However, in the video, Padilla identifies himself as he moves toward the front of the room. FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said the agents who removed Padilla acted 'completely appropriately' in assisting Secret Service officials. Noem later said in a post on X that she and Padilla met for 15 minutes after the conference and exchanged phone numbers to talk more later. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
