Hardy Rhode Island protesters stand against ICE
By Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Current
“Donald Trump, let’s be clear, immigrants are welcome here.”
Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current
That was the chant of the hundreds who gathered at the 195 District Park near downtown Providence Tuesday as part of a nationwide protest on the one-year anniversary of President Donald Trump’s second term.
Organizers estimated upward of 400 demonstrators came out for Providence’s portion of the “Day of Action” against Trump’s policies, even amid frigid temperatures that saw a high of 18 degrees. Wind conditions made it feel like 10 degrees.
“This administration has shown us exactly who they are,” Maya Lehrer, an organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, told the crowd. “Trump is attacking us on every front — his administration is ripping families apart, they’re cutting vital aid for heating and food, letting health care costs rise, accelerating environmental destruction, and threatening the world.”
Protestors’ primary focus was on ending U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Rhode Island — repeatedly shouting the agency is “not welcome here.”
Newport resident Stefanie Gallo told Rhode Island Current the nation is at a turning point. She said she has been concerned about immigration officers’ constant presence outside of courthouses.
“In Newport, almost every Thursday and Friday, they circle our courthouse,” she told Rhode Island Current. “And in Providence it’s every single day.”
Gallo said she was especially taken aback when she learned about ICE officers entering the state-owned Garrahy Judicial Complex on Dorrance Street on Jan. 15, bypassing security.
“That was crazy,” she said.
Cindy Capra of Barrington came with a green sign that called ICE “Trump’s Gestapo.”
“ICE is wreaking havoc in cities all over the country and I want to protest that in my community,” she said in an interview.
Following speeches from local religious and community leaders, advocates marched across the pedestrian bridge over the Providence River chanting, “ICE is not welcome here.”
Rhode Island Current is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Rhode Island Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janine L. Weisman for questions: info@rhodeislandcurrent.com.
