US immigration crackdown: One year into Trump's second term, protests erupt nationwide

Thousands of workers and students poured into the streets and university campuses across the United States on Tuesday, marking a coordinated national pushback against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies as his second term completed one year.

The demonstrations unfolded amid rising anger over the administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement, which has intensified scrutiny of federal agencies after a U.S. citizen was forcibly removed from her vehicle and 37-year-old mother Renee Good was shot dead by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent during a raid in Minneapolis earlier this month.

Protests were reported in major cities as well as smaller urban centres. In Washington, D.C., and Asheville, North Carolina, hundreds marched through downtown areas chanting slogans captured in online videos, including “No ICE, no KKK, no fascist USA.”

The demonstrations followed a week of heightened public debate over immigration enforcement tactics. While the Trump administration has said it holds a voter mandate to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, recent polls indicate that most Americans oppose the use of force by ICE and other federal law enforcement agencies.

Campus protests formed a central pillar of the nationwide action. University students in Cleveland, Ohio, marched while chanting “No hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here.” In Santa Fe, New Mexico, high school students walked out of class to attend a “Stop ICE Terror” rally at the state capitol, according to organisers and school officials.

The protests were organised by a coalition of left-leaning groups, including Indivisible and 50501, alongside labour unions and grassroots organisations opposing immigration detention facilities. One such facility in El Paso, Texas, has come under renewed focus after three detainees died there over the past six weeks, federal authorities said.

Demonstrations were expected to continue through the day, moving westward to cities including San Francisco and Seattle, where larger afternoon and evening rallies were planned.

(With inputs from Reuters)