Protests over immigration raids popping up across the country with more planned
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Protests that sprang up in Los Angeles over immigration enforcement raids and prompted President Donald Trump to mobilize National Guard troops and Marines have begun to spread across the country, with more planned into the weekend.
From Seattle to Austin to Washington D.C., marchers have chanted slogans, carried signs against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and snarled traffic through downtown avenues and outside federal offices. While many were peaceful, some have resulted in clashes with law enforcement as officers made arrests used chemical irritants to disperse crowds.
Activists plan more and even larger demonstrations in the coming days, with so-called 'No Kings' events across the country on Saturday to coincide with Trump's planned military parade through 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 protests sprouting up 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 hurt a shoulder while making an arrest, she said.
Austin police arrested eight people, and state police arrested several more. Davis said her department is prepared for Saturday's planned protest downtown.
'We support peaceful protest,' Davis said. 'When that protests turn 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 local 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.'
___
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 the entryways to the building before police arrived.
Mathieu Chabaud, with Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Washington, said they were there in solidarity with the protesters in Los Angeles, '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.
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 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.
Associated Press writers Martha Bellisle in Seattle and Amy Taxin in Santa Ana, California contributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
9 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Oman foreign minister says there will be sixth round of negotiations between Iran and US on Sunday
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran and the United States will hold a sixth round of negotiations over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program this Sunday in Oman, the sultanate's foreign minister said Thursday, as regional tensions have spiked in recent days. The announcement by Oman's Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi comes as the U.S. is drawing down the presence of staffers who are not deemed essential to operations in the Middle East and their loved ones due to the potential for regional unrest. Meanwhile, there have been warnings that ships could be targeted in regional waters over the tensions. Al-Busaidi made the announcement on the social platform X. 'I am pleased to confirm the 6th round of Iran US talks will be held in Muscat this Sunday the 15th,' he wrote. Iran for days had been saying there would be talks, but Oman, which is serving as the mediator, had not confirmed them until now. There was no immediate comment from the U.S. Reaching a deal is one of the several diplomatic priorities being juggled by U.S. President Donald Trump and his trusted friend and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. An accord could see the U.S. lift some of its crushing economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for it drastically limiting or ending its enrichment of uranium. But a failure to get a deal could see tensions further spike in a Middle East on edge over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. Iran's economy, long ailing, could enter a free fall that could worsen the simmering unrest at home. Israel or the U.S. might carry out long-threatened airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities. And Tehran may decide to fully end its cooperation with the United Nations' nuclear watchdog and rush toward a bomb.
11 minutes ago
Trump administration hit with second lawsuit over restrictions on asylum access
McALLEN, Texas -- Immigration advocates filed a class action lawsuit Wednesday over the Trump administration's use of a proclamation that effectively put an end to being able to seek asylum at ports of entry to the United States. The civil lawsuit was filed in a Southern California federal court by the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, the American Immigration Council, Democracy Forward, and the Center for Constitutional Rights. The lawsuit is asking the court to find the proclamation unlawful, set aside the policy ending asylum at ports of entry and restore access to the asylum process at ports of entry, including for those who had appointments that were canceled when President Donald Trump took office. Unlike a similar lawsuit filed in February in a Washington, D.C., federal court representing people who had already reached U.S. soil and sought asylum after crossing between ports of entry, Wednesday's lawsuit focuses on people who are not on U.S. soil and are seeking asylum at ports of entry. No response was immediately issued by the Department of Homeland Security or Customs and Border Protection, which were both among the defendants listed. Trump's sweeping proclamation issued on his first day in office changed asylum policies, effectively ending asylum at the border. The proclamation said the screening process created by Congress under the Immigration and Nationality Act 'can be wholly ineffective in the border environment' and was 'leading to the unauthorized entry of innumerable illegal aliens into the United States.' Immigrant advocates said that under the proclamation noncitizens seeking asylum at a port of entry are asked to present medical and criminal histories, a requirement for the visa process but not for migrants who are often fleeing from immediate danger. 'Nothing in the INA or any other source of law permits Defendants' actions,' the immigrant advocates wrote in their complaint. Thousands of people who sought asylum through the CBP One app, a system developed under President Joe Biden, had their appointments at ports of entry canceled on Trump's first day in office as part of the proclamation that declared an invasion at the border. 'The Trump administration has taken drastic steps to block access to the asylum process, in flagrant violation of U.S. law,' the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies stated in a news release Wednesday.
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
White House preparing Trump's meetings at G7 summit, which Zelenskyy attends
The White House has confirmed that it is preparing separate bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit, where, in addition to the G7 leaders, the presidents of Brazil, Mexico and Ukraine are expected to attend. Source: White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt during a press briefing in Washington, quoted by Ukrinform Quote from Leavitt: "I can confirm there will be quite a few bilateral meetings between the president [Trump – ed.] and other foreign leaders." Details: Meanwhile, Leavitt did not specify whether a meeting between President Donald Trump and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is planned. Quote from Leavitt: "The White House is still working very hard to finalise that schedule, and we will provide that for you as soon as we have it." Background: The Office of the President of Ukraine hopes to organise a meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit on 15-17 June. Last week, Zelenskyy confirmed that he had received an invitation to the G7 summit. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
