Protests over immigration raids popping up across the country with more planned

Arab News

4 days ago

AUSTIN, Texas: 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 and 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 and used chemical irritants to disperse crowds.
Activists are planning 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 was injured 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 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 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.
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, DC
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 US 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.'