ICE protests descend into mashup of left-wing rally cries as Gaza and police brutality chants drown out immigration

Yahoo

15 hours ago

Protests against immigration raids conducted by the Trump administration have morphed into demonstrations against a variety of left-wing causes, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza and police brutality in the U.S.
At a 'March to Defend Immigrant Rights' protest in St. Louis on Wednesday, participants turned to the outcry following an infamous police brutality case in 2014, chanting, 'From Ferguson to Palestine, occupation is a crime,' according to The New York Times.
In Chicago this week, chants could be heard at a protest taking aim at U.S. immigration policy as well as the war in Gaza: 'From Palestine to Mexico, these border walls have got to go!'
The left has long worked under the notion that all oppressed people are connected, which means protests are often large but also lack a coherent message.
Labor groups have been leading the charge this week to bring protests into the streets. Numerous protests, including those in Los Angeles, have primarily focused on immigration raids conducted at workplaces. However, other protests have focused on a wide variety of causes and concerns.
The earlier protests have been coordinated by major groups such as MoveOn and Indivisible. Those groups have worked to keep the focus on issues such as Medicaid and Social Security cuts, the influence of billionaires, as well as immigration policies.
However, this week, protests also included issues such as racial justice, Palestinian rights, and socialist policies.
The largest individual union in the U.S., the National Education Association, took action when the protests began in Los Angeles. Other groups that have taken on leadership roles include local chapters of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. They have worked with local leftist groups to share information about demonstrations all over the country.
Supporters of Palestinian rights have appeared at protests in several places, including Chicago and New York. As the march in St. Louis came to an end on Wednesday, several groups attempted to garner support for queer rights, Black Lives Matter, and for tornado victims.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation, Voices for Palestine Network, Black Men Build St. Louis, and the Ecosocialist Green Party all took to social media to promote the march in St. Louis, according to The Times.
'St. Louis is a small city, and a lot of the people that care about organizing for human rights tend to all work loosely with each other through an unofficial coalition,' activist Kaitlyn Killgo told the paper.
Democrats have discussed the possibility, following their losses in 2024, that treating all issues as equally vital may have damaged their appeal.
The executive director of the low-income and immigrant advocacy group Mission Action, Laura Valdez, called the ICE arrest of a Los Angeles labor leader 'a four-alarm fire.'
Following the Friday video of the detention of the labor leader, Mission Action was taking part in protests by Monday, which was a reaction to the Trump administration's immigration raids.
Left-leaning groups could quickly gather people to protest, as they had been protesting Trump's policies for most of the year.
'Emergency protest: solidarity with LA! We'll see y'all tomorrow at the state capitol to say 'ICE out of our cities! Stop the deportations!'' the Austin, Texas chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation wrote on social media on Monday.
Similarly, also on Monday, the New York workers' rights group the People's Forum, told supporters there would be a protest on Tuesday backing Los Angeles.
'We refuse to be silenced! The people of New York City demand ICE get out of our communities, stop the deportations, and stop the raids,' they said.
Leaders of progressive groups often speak to each other several times a day about how the Trump administration's policies impact their communities. Such groups have also taken steps to educate immigrants, students, educators, and religious leaders about their rights as well as provide legal help and mutual aid. The network reacted swiftly after ICE agents started going into workplaces in Los Angeles last week.
'We could see that the government had decided it would be more effective to apprehend hundreds of people through workplace enforcement rather than having several agents try to go after one person at a time,' said Valdez.
This comes as widespread protests have been planned for Saturday across the country, coinciding with the military parade in Washington, D.C.