Outcry over the increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids has arrived in El Paso.
Dozens gathered outside the Richard C. White federal courthouse on Wednesday, June 11, to protest the Trump administration’s widening crackdown on immigrants. The protest was organized as immigrants are being detained following the dismissal of immigration court cases and as a condemnation of the decision to deploy active duty U.S. Marines to Los Angeles, California.
“It is to support the Los Angeles community and to bring to light for our community to understand it’s happening right here in our backyard,” Bonnie Daniels, a member of Indivisible the 915, an immigrant rights group, said. “I am glad people are protesting. That is our constitutional right. It is appalling what the Trump administration is doing.”
Daniels and other members of El Paso immigrant rights groups, including Indivisible the 915 and Casa Carmelita, have maintained a constant presence inside and outside of the federal courthouse, warning migrants of the courtroom arrests and serving as observers since last week.
The protests were peaceful and continued to grow throughout the morning. There was a small presence of El Paso Police Department officers on bikes.
There are growing concerns over the denial of due process for immigrants across the country as the Trump administration has sought to increase the number of immigrants detained for deportation by ICE agents.
“They are being deported without any hearings in violation of the asylum statute … They’re denying full due process,” Former state senator José Rodríguez said. “The federal government and the (Gov. Greg) Abbott have called for the National Guard to come down here and are militarizing the border, making things worse … We’re not going to condone this and we want them out of here.”
Abbott announced early Wednesday, June 11, that he would deploy Texas National Guard troops across the state to protests against ICE. He is the first governor to deploy military troops against growing protests.
Anti-ICE protests spread across US
The protests are part of growing condemnation of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigrants following high-profile raids in Los Angeles, which saw over 100 immigrants arrested by ICE on June 6, including at a Home Depot in Paramount, California.
President Donald Trump responded to the Los Angeles protests against the ICE raids by sending in over 4,000 California National Guard troops and 700 active duty Marines to protect federal buildings.
Hundreds of protesters have been arrested over the past five days of protests.
Protests condemning the militarization of Los Angeles have spread across the United States, with demonstrations in cities such as Seattle, New York, and Chicago.
In solidarity with Los Angeles
A vigil was held on Tuesday evening, June 10, in San Jacinto Plaza in Downtown El Paso, organized by the Border Network for Human Rights.
“It is clear that we have a crisis in this nation and that all the eyes are on Los Angeles and violence created by this administration against Latino communities,” Fernando García, the executive director of the Border Network for Human Rights, said. “The ICE raids, the illegal deployment of the military and the separation of families is part of a national plan that is destroy families and communities. It is the agenda of this president. Today we are in solidarity with Los Angeles.”
Dozens of people joined the vigil in solidarity with the Los Angeles protests, despite severe thunderstorm warnings. Protesters were joined by representatives from local unions, religious leaders and El Paso City Council Reps. Chris Canales and Josh Acevedo.
Protesters carried U.S. flags as they marched around the plaza, chanting “Fuera ICE” and condemning the militarization of the protests. Trump justified the presence of troops in a major American city by saying that it was nearly an “insurrection,” but the presence of soldiers has inflamed the situation, García said.
“Los Angeles was under control,” García said. “It wasn’t until they showed up with the military that they inflamed the situation. This was a prefabricated crisis by Trump himself. He wants chaos and violence. He believes that he can win that narrative presenting himself as the savior of the nation, which is not true.”
Jeff Abbott covers the border for the El Paso Times and can be reached at:jdabbott@gannett.com; @palabrasdeabajo on Twitter or @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso joins national protests against ICE raids and military deployment
Reporting by Jeff Abbott, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
