Anti-Trump '50501' Protesters Warn They're Fighting ‘Fascism'
Thousands of demonstrators surged through Manhattan on Saturday in a coordinated National Day of Protest that was organized by the grassroots 50501 Movement, carrying placards, chanting slogans, and calling for due process for deported Venezuelan migrants as they marched from the New York Public Library to Central Park.
A coordinated wave of protests organized by "50501" is taking place across all 50 states on Saturday in opposition to President Donald Trump's policies since his return to office in January.
The nationwide demonstrations, named for "50 protests, 50 states, one day," represent the latest in a series of actions by the rapidly growing movement that previously organized "Not My Presidents Day" in February and the global "Hands Off" protests earlier this month.
U.S. authorities are carrying out an ongoing immigration crackdown under Trump, who has pledged to launch the largest mass deportation operation in the country's history. Thousands of people have been detained and deported since he took office, and the administration faces several lawsuits over the matter.
The president has said most detentions and deportations would target individuals with criminal records. However, in recent weeks, there have been multiple reports of people without criminal convictions, and some with valid documentation, being detained for deportation.
Fifth Avenue was once again the epicenter of political unrest on Saturday as thousands of demonstrators filled Midtown Manhattan, demanding justice for deported migrants and warning of what they called creeping authoritarianism in the United States.
Two weeks after a major anti-Trump rally shook the city, protesters returned to the streets—marching from the New York Public Library, up Madison Avenue, and into Central Park. Many held signs reading "Hands Off Democracy" and "Bring Kilmar Home," referencing Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
Abrego Garcia, who came to the U.S. illegally, was arrested in 2019 and accused of being a member of the MS-13 gang, which the Trump administration has designated a foreign terrorist organization. Abrego Garcia denied being a member of the gang, but two judges, in separate rulings, concluded that he was, based on confidential information provided to the court. He was shielded from deportation to El Salvador because he said he would be targeted by MS-13's gangland rivals.
Abrego Garcia, who lived in Maryland with his wife and children, was deported to El Salvador after being arrested last month in what the Trump administration lawyers said was an "administrative error." His family denies any ties to gangs and Abrego Garcia has no criminal record in the U.S., although his wife accused him of domestic violence and obtained a restraining order against him. They have since been reconciled.
He has been ordered to return to the U.S. by District Judge Paula Xinis, but the White House and El Salvador have pushed back.
Tony, one of the marchers, held a placard showing the face of Andry, a Venezuelan hairdresser who he says disappeared after an encounter with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
"I saw they all came from videos of their mothers crying," he told Newsweek. "That's what impacts me most—that there are mothers who don't know where their sons are."
Meanwhile, Joe, a protester from New Jersey, who asked to use only his first name, told Newsweek: "This—right here. Deporting people without due process. It could happen to you or me tomorrow. Just by being here at this protest, just by you filming this, someone could see my face—and I could disappear."
Carrying a banner that read "Free Abrego Garcia Now," Joe said he was inspired by his father and uncles who fought in World War II. "They fought to defeat fascism, and I'm here today as their son and nephew to fight fascism."
Abrego Garcia was deported under the Trump administration's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked additional deportations under the Alien Enemies Act in a pre-dawn ruling on Saturday, responding to emergency filings from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The decision paused the removal of over 50 Venezuelan migrants from a Texas detention center after reports that some had already been loaded onto buses.
"These men were close to spending their lives in a horrific foreign prison without ever having had any due process," Lee Gelernt, the lead ACLU attorney on the case, said.
The Trump administration had been seeking to deport the Venezuelan men it accused of being members of Tren de Aragua, a criminal group it has designated as a terrorist organization, using powers contained in the Alien Enemies Act.
Meanwhile, along the protest route in Manhattan, signs took aim not only at Trump but also at tech mogul Elon Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The agency has overseen sweeping federal job cuts since January, prompting additional anger at what demonstrators describe as corporate control over democratic institutions.
"We want to drive down the stock price of Tesla so that Elon Musk leaves X and comes back to Tesla," Katy, another protester, said. "They're ruining our democracy."
Some marchers came with a different sense of urgency.
"I'm here because these people were abducted illegally," Tony said before comparing the current political landscape to that of Chile during its dictatorship. "The Trump administration is behaving in the same terroristic way as Augusto Pinochet and others have in the hemisphere."
The protest included a broad coalition of causes—immigrant rights, LGBTQ+ protections, veterans' benefits, Social Security, and the cost of living were all cited by demonstrators. A giant banner over 47th Street read "50501 = Democracy in Action," while Venezuelan and U.S. flags waved next to signs calling for due process and an end to "ICE terror."
Hunter Dunn, national press coordinator for 50501, previously told Newsweek: "The 50501 movement has called for a National Day of Action, also known as a National Day of Community Action, not a National Day of Protest. There are plenty of demonstrations happening around the country as part of the day of action, but the primary focus of the day of action is speaking to the needs of your community."
50501 Movement recently wrote on social media platform BlueSky: "We have reason to believe that events on 4/19 and/or the 50501 Movement may be misrepresented by the Trump admin in an attempt to justify the use of military force."
Rallies stretched from Miami to Seattle. In Washington, D.C., thousands chanted "Shame!" near the White House. In Fort Worth, Texas, traffic was shut down for blocks. And in Concord, Massachusetts, a man held a sign that read "Stop Fascism Now" at the site of the American Revolution's first battle.
Update 4/19/25, 6:35 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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