Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across the United States to demand the end of ICE and its defunding, in response to the anger unleashed by President Donald Trump's administration through his machinery of mass deportations, the terror inflicted by federal agents on immigrant communities, the violation of human, civil, and constitutional rights, and the increase in deaths and killings at the hands of federal agents, including Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

From neighborhoods in Minneapolis to Georgia, from Boulder, Colorado to Pennsylvania; from New York to Chicago and from Portland, Oregon to numerous cities in California, protesters chanted slogans of total rejection of President Donald Trump, Deputy Chief of Staff Steven Miller, and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.

Some close and others don't. "Governments must handle immigration in a more humane way," said Maria Socorro Moreno.

"There are many injustices in the treatment they receive," added Melchor, her husband. They own the restaurant La Chispa de Oro and showed solidarity with the immigrants by closing their business located on Cesar Chavez Boulevard in Boyle Heights, where masked immigration agents conducted raids on Wednesday. With the midday sun beating down on the steps of Los Angeles City Hall, thousands of people denounced the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. “Fk Trump” “Fk ICE” chanted the protesters, agreed mainly by the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) of Los Angeles; Black Lives Matter (BLM); and the Refuse Fascism movement and the Revolutoin Club, among many other organizations. “We have to get this fascist Trump regime out of the White House, and we can't wait until 2028,” said Michelle Xai of Refuse Fascism. "Look at how much damage he has done to us in one year. We cannot allow him to remain in power until 2028." The activist stated that the United States has already invaded Venezuela to steal its oil and is preparing to invade and attack Iran. In addition to trying to “steal” the upcoming elections. “We cannot allow that to happen,” he said. “We have to take to the streets and begin a revolutionary change.” While there was a prior call for businesses to close their doors,some that were registered to close ultimately decided to open. Mexican man shows no solidarity. “What do I care if they sport people!” said an angry owner of a Mexican restaurant in East Los Angeles. “Who's going to help me pay the rent that the landlord raises every year?” The protest actions and national strike, called the “National Day of Action to Expel ICE Everywhere,” aimed to unite communities to protect each other from potential detentions and physical assaults, and to urge states and politicians to reduce or suspend funding for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Blanca Nuno, a student at Channel Island College, emphasized that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should be abolished, and instead the federal government should defend human life. “Ending ICE would mean ending the terrible treatment that agents are inflicting everywhere, and simply defending the human beings who make up this community we love,” she said. “We are all human beings and we are being treated like animals, and some have been killed.”

They demand justice for Keith Porter. The national protest movement arose in the wake of rising social tensions across the country as ICE and Border Patrol agents intensified their physical and deadly aggression against citizens.

Although the killings of Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis fueled the protests, six other people have died in ICE-related incidents since the beginning of the year, including Silverio Villegas Gonzalez, who was gunned down in Franklin Park in Chicago, Illinois, and Keith Porter Jr., a father who was fatally shot on New Year's Eve by an ICE agent in Northridge, California.

“We demand justice for Keith Porter. We demand justice for Renee Good. We demand justice for Alex Pretti. “And we're only going to get it when we hit them in their wallets,” Assemblyman Isaac G. Bryan (District 55) emphasized. The legislator called on people to challenge the system “and the system will move.” “They're taking our taxes right now and funneling them to ICE, more than $100 billion. That's the money Los Angeles spends on homelessness for 1,000 years. That's the entire city's budget for 10 years and a third of California's money,” he added. “And they are spending it, terrorizing our communities.”

Courage and Cowardice: The growing public discontent against the current US administration was perceived as “authoritarianism with a special emphasis on the rise of fascism and violence,” according to Melina Abdullah, professor and director of the Department of Pan-African Studies at California State University, Los Angeles.

“It is necessary that, in the midterm elections, candidates who support the abolition of ICE and prioritize social needs over military spending are elected,” Abdullah said.the co-founder of the Los Angeles Black Lives Matter movement considered that Mayor Karen Bass “needs to show courage” to oppose the Trump administration.

“I find it shameful that she appointed Jim McDonnell as chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), who is protecting ICE,” the activist denounced. "Even with the reforms that were passed, which prohibit ICE agents from wearing masks, he simply said he won't enforce them. When he was sheriff, he cooperated with ICE. He refused to arrest the off-duty ICE agent who killed Keith Porter, and I think the mayor of this city bears some responsibility for this, because she hasn't acted on it either. So I think this moment raises the question: Do you want to be brave and lead the city, or do you want to be a coward and get removed from office?”

They're part of the same system

Stephen “Cue” Jn-Marie, former Virgin Records rapper and founder of Church Without Walls in Skid Row, pointed out that ICE hasn't always existed.

“It started in 2003 [after the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers in New York on September 11, 2001], so we can abolish it, especially when we have these systems in place, in “Regarding the police and the repression of the people,” he stated. "We always feel that if we don't eliminate those systems, then we won't have peace. There are things that contribute to peace, and that is that everyone can have all the resources they need, so that we can all take care of each other." The pastor also criticized the LAPD for not arresting or filing criminal charges against Brian Palacios, the ICE agent who killed Keith Porter. "That's obvious. They're part of the same system. They protect each other. We'll never see the LAPD explicitly speak out against ICE.”Professor and director of the Department of Pan-African Studies at California State University, Los Angeles. “It is necessary that, in the midterm elections, candidates who support the abolition of ICE and prioritize social needs over military spending are elected,” Abdullah said. At the local level, the co-founder of the Los Angeles Black Lives Matter movement believes that Mayor Karen Bass “needs to show courage” to oppose the Trump administration. “I find it shameful that she appointed Jim McDonnell as chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), who is protecting ICE,” the activist denounced. “Even with the reforms that were passed, which prohibited ICE agents from wearing masks, he simply said he won't enforce them. When he was sheriff, he cooperated with ICE. He refused to arrest the off-duty ICE agent who killed Keith Porter, and I think the mayor of this city bears some responsibility for this, because she hasn't acted on it either. So I think this moment raises the question: Do you want to be brave and lead the city,or do you want to be a coward and get removed from office? abolish it, especially when we have these systems in place, in “Regarding the police and the repression of the people,” he stated. "We always feel that if we don't eliminate those systems, then we won't have peace. There are things that contribute to peace, and that is that everyone can have all the resources they need, so that we can all take care of each other." The pastor also criticized the LAPD for not arresting or filing criminal charges against Brian Palacios, the ICE agent who killed Keith Porter. "That's obvious. They're part of the same system. They protect each other. We'll never see the LAPD explicitly speak out against ICE."Professor and director of the Department of Pan-African Studies at California State University, Los Angeles. “It is necessary that, in the midterm elections, candidates who support the abolition of ICE and prioritize social needs over military spending are elected,” Abdullah said. At the local level, the co-founder of the Los Angeles Black Lives Matter movement believes that Mayor Karen Bass “needs to show courage” to oppose the Trump administration. “I find it shameful that she appointed Jim McDonnell as chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), who is protecting ICE,” the activist denounced. "Even with the reforms that were passed, which prohibit ICE agents from wearing masks, he simply said he won't enforce them. When he was sheriff, he cooperated with ICE. He refused to arrest the off-duty ICE agent who killed Keith Porter, and I think the mayor of this city bears some responsibility for this, because she hasn't acted on it either. So I think this moment raises the question: Do you want to be brave and lead the city, or do you want to be a coward and get removed from office?”