Thousands March in Nationwide Protest on Trump Inauguration Anniversary

Thousands Stage Nationwide Walkout Protesting Immigration Policies on Trump’s One-Year Anniversary

Thousands of Americans took to the streets Tuesday in a coordinated nationwide walkout protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), marking exactly one year since Donald Trump began his second presidential term.

The “Free America Walkout,” organized by the Women’s March—the same group that mobilized millions against Trump’s first administration in 2017—saw participants leave schools, workplaces, and businesses around 2 p.m. local time in cities across the country.

Video footage captured demonstrators converging in major metropolitan areas including Atlanta, New York City, Minneapolis, and Washington, D.C. In New York, protesters marched to Trump Tower, chanting and displaying signs calling for changes to federal immigration policies.

“One year into Trump’s second regime, we face an escalating fascist threat: ICE raids on our communities, troops occupying our cities, families torn apart, attacks on our trans siblings, mass surveillance, and terror used to keep us silent,” the Women’s March stated on its website. “It is time for our communities to escalate as well.”

The protests come amid heightened tensions surrounding immigration enforcement. Trump’s administration has deployed thousands of additional ICE agents and federal personnel to major cities as part of an intensified immigration crackdown, a move critics say has created fear in immigrant communities.

Demonstrators were particularly galvanized by recent incidents involving ICE operations, including the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent during an enforcement operation in Minneapolis. This incident has intensified scrutiny of the administration’s use of force in immigration enforcement actions.

In several locations, high school students participated despite snowy conditions, demonstrating political engagement despite being too young to vote. School administrators in some districts had prepared for the walkouts, with principals notifying parents and arranging supervision for participating students, according to local news reports.

Organizers strategically chose a weekday for maximum impact, noting on their website that “a walkout interrupts business as usual. It makes visible how much our labor, participation, and cooperation are taken for granted—and what happens when we withdraw them together.”

The demonstrations appeared largely peaceful across the country, with protesters filling streets and public spaces in an orderly manner. The coordinated nature of the protest—occurring simultaneously across time zones—amplified its visibility and message.

This event represents the latest chapter in the ongoing tension between the Trump administration’s hardline immigration policies and immigration advocates. The Women’s March has maintained its position as a significant organizing force for progressive causes since its initial demonstrations in 2017, which attracted millions of participants and were considered among the largest single-day protests in U.S. history.

The “Free America” movement frames its opposition not merely as disagreement with policy but as resistance to what organizers characterize as increasingly authoritarian governance. By encouraging participants to “withhold our labor, our participation, and our consent,” the movement employs civil disobedience tactics reminiscent of historical labor and civil rights movements.

The protests come as immigration remains one of the most divisive issues in American politics. Trump’s second term has seen the administration double down on restrictive immigration policies that defined his first presidency, including expanded deportation operations, increased border security, and stricter enforcement measures against undocumented immigrants.

As demonstrations continued into the evening in some locations, organizers indicated this walkout represents just one component of a broader resistance strategy that will continue throughout Trump’s second term.