Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Triggers Nationwide Protests And ICE Violence In U.S. Cities

News in Short (60 words)

Tensions erupted across major U.S. cities as Trump’s immigration crackdown intensified. An ICE officer shoved an asylum seeker in a New York courthouse, protesters were dispersed with tear gas outside a Chicago detention center, and a woman in Boston was injured during an arrest. Critics accuse ICE of racial profiling, while DHS launched an investigation into misconduct.

News in Detail:

Clashes Erupt Across U.S. Cities Amid Trump’s Immigration Crackdowns

Major cities across the United States witnessed violent confrontations on Thursday and Friday as President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown triggered public outrage, leading to street clashes, arrests, and growing criticism of federal enforcement tactics. The incidents come just days after a deadly shooting at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Dallas, where one detainee was killed and two others wounded.

Trump, who has pledged to deport record numbers of immigrants, continues to frame his campaign around targeting criminals. However, federal data and witnesses suggest many arrested have no criminal record, fueling backlash in Democrat-led metro areas like New York, Chicago, and Washington.

Courthouse Confrontation in New York

In a widely shared video published by ProPublica, an ICE officer was seen charging at a woman inside a New York City courthouse hallway. The woman, Monica Moreta-Galarza, an asylum seeker from Ecuador, pleaded with officers not to take her husband away when she was suddenly shoved to the ground.

In a rare rebuke of its own officers during the Trump era, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) condemned the act. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin announced that the officer involved had been “relieved of current duties” pending investigation, calling the behavior “unacceptable and beneath the men and women of ICE.”

Violence in Boston Suburb

A separate incident in Chelsea, Massachusetts, raised alarms among immigrant advocacy groups. According to Milagros Barreto of La Colaborativa, ICE agents stopped a pickup truck carrying several family members to court. Witnesses say the officers smashed the vehicle’s windows and detained one family member.

During the confrontation, a Guatemalan woman identified only as Hilda, who is a permanent U.S. resident, was thrown to the ground. Photos captured by Reuters show her pinned by federal agents as her son cried nearby. She sustained shoulder scratches and aggravated a back injury, requiring hospitalization.

“It doesn’t matter where you come from. If you look Latino, you’re a target,” said Barreto, originally from Puerto Rico. DHS and ICE have not commented on the incident.

Chicago Standoff with Protesters

Outside a detention facility in Broadview, Illinois, protests against ICE escalated into violent clashes. Hundreds of demonstrators chanting and holding banners called for the facility’s closure. In response, ICE deployed tear gas, pepper balls, flash grenades, and less-lethal rounds to disperse the crowd.

Witnesses, including Reverend Beth Brown of Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church, accused ICE of firing without provocation. “People were peacefully standing behind the fence and for absolutely no reason, pepper balls were fired,” she said as helicopters circled overhead.

DHS, however, described the scene differently, claiming that over 200 “rioters” blocked access to a facility gate and that 30 protesters attempted to breach the property.

Mounting Political Tensions

The string of incidents has intensified scrutiny of ICE’s tactics, which critics argue amount to racial profiling. Hispanic residents in several cities report being targeted solely because of their appearance or language, allegations the Trump administration denies.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a lower court injunction that had restricted ICE from detaining people based solely on ethnicity, language, or other factors in the Los Angeles area, giving the agency more leeway in enforcement.

California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed legislation prohibiting ICE officers from wearing masks during operations, arguing that masks reduce accountability. Federal officials, however, insist anonymity is necessary to protect agents from retaliation.

Meanwhile, in Mexico, funerals were held Friday for Silverio Villegas Gonzalez, who was shot dead earlier this month by an ICE agent in a Chicago suburb. DHS has defended the officer, saying he feared for his life, though bodycam footage shows the agent downplaying his injuries.

A Nation on Edge

The incidents underscore the deep divisions over Trump’s immigration agenda. While the administration insists aggressive enforcement is essential to national security, immigrant advocates argue that ICE’s expanding powers are destabilizing communities and eroding civil rights.

With violent standoffs now spreading from courthouses to detention centers, critics warn that Trump’s pledge to increase deportations risks igniting further unrest in America’s largest cities.

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