Protests against the Trump administration’s intensified immigration enforcement policies are spreading across the United States. A recent incident where a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer fatally shot a civilian ignited these demonstrations. Whistles blown by the protesters have emerged as symbols of resistance.
According to the New York Times and Washington Post, more than 1,000 protests were held across all 50 states on January 10th and 11th. In New York, protesters gathered in front of 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan, home to immigration courts and detention centers, braving the winter rain. In Stuart, Florida, the protest venue was outside Congressman Brian Mast’s office. Mast, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has argued that the actions of the ICE officer were justified.
In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, about 500 protesters marched from City Hall to a federal detention center, chanting slogans like “ICE must go” and “No fascist USA”. In Los Angeles, protestors carrying inverted American flags and signs criticizing ICE marched along Alameda Street. Unlike the violent protests following the police killing of George Floyd in 2020, which featured chants of “Black Lives Matter”, these current demonstrations have been peaceful so far, according to local media.
The protests were sparked by the January 7th shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old white American woman, was killed by an ICE officer. Good was blocking a road in her vehicle and, after failing to comply with ICE officers’ requests to open her car door, attempted to drive away and was shot. The Trump administration has defended the shooting as self-defense by the ICE officer. Critics, however, label it as an excessive use of force and abuse of power.
The core of the protest movement consists of groups that previously organized demonstrations opposing President Trump’s inauguration, branded as ‘No Kings’. These groups, which include diverse races and organizations, are expected to amplify the voices of the anti-Trump faction. The Associated Press reported that the protesters are targeting the overall harsh immigration enforcement policies of the Trump administration.
Additionally, according to the Wall Street Journal, the whistle has become a symbol of non-violent protest. Blowing it twice briefly signals the presence of ICE, while a long blow warns that enforcement has started. A long whistle serves as a cue for targets of enforcement to hide and for protestors to gather. Organizations leading the protests distribute the whistles.
In Minnesota, hundreds of open chat rooms on SNS (social networking sites) are used to share ICE enforcement information and photos. Volunteer parents are organized to form ‘human chains’ to protect schools from ICE operations. They stand ready to blow whistles when students are arriving or leaving to protect immigrant students in case of an ICE raid, the WSJ reported.
On January 11th, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced it would deploy additional law enforcement personnel to Minnesota. Acting Secretary Kristi Noem stated in a Fox News interview that “We will send more agents today and tomorrow,” adding that if protesters interfere with operations, it would be considered a crime and consequences would follow.