It begins with a chant, shouted thousands of times: No hate, no fear – immigrants are welcome here. And it ends – for now – with a police grab, with tear gas, with plastic zip ties. What is happening in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Denver, Portland, Philadelphia, and Sioux City is no longer a fringe phenomenon. It is the expression of a society that is tearing apart. An open wound. And a country staggering toward a date that has already taken on symbolic weight – June 14.
On that Saturday, Trump’s 79th birthday, a military parade is scheduled to take place in Washington – tanks, anthems, helicopters. The president calls, the troops march, and in the shadow of this spectacle, fear is growing. Because while the White House polishes itself to a shine, resistance is flaring up in the cities. Loud. Relentless. And increasingly desperate.
In New York, it was Foley Square that filled up first – a place meant to breathe court and justice. But here, where vigils once stood, thousands marched through the streets on Tuesday, many holding signs: ICE out of NYC, Fuck fascism, Stop the deportations now. Families, workers, young people, descendants of immigrants. People whose mere presence becomes a provocation in a state that is slamming its doors shut. A young woman with Mexican roots speaks for many: I’m here for my mother. She can’t be here, but I can. Her voice does not tremble. But she knows that even speaking is dangerous. More than 20 arrests were made in Lower Manhattan alone. And it was a peaceful protest.
Los Angeles – Where the State Puts on Helmets
In Los Angeles, the situation is very different. Burning cars, tear gas, curfews. 197 arrests on Tuesday alone. The president has not only sent the National Guard but also 700 active-duty Marines – a measure not even taken after the storming of the Capitol in 2021. Authorities speak of order. Protesters speak of a state of emergency. Governor Gavin Newsom is suing to stop the deployment – but until the court hearing, the troops continue to march. And Trump? He calls the protesters animals and foreign enemies. In a speech that was supposed to honor the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army.
From Denver to Philadelphia – A Country Rising or Falling
In Denver, hundreds gathered in Civic Center Park. In Philadelphia, demonstrators blocked the street in front of the ICE field office in Center City. In Sioux City – a place rarely part of national protest maps – activists spontaneously gathered outside a local detention facility. In Portland, the ICE building was completely shut down for several hours, while in Seattle, sit-ins took place on Interstate 5. In Brookhaven near Atlanta and in suburbs of Houston and Phoenix, people also took to the streets.
The map of America is no longer red or blue – it is angry. People who are afraid. People who are defending their neighbors. People who are no longer willing to stay silent while deportations tear families apart. Trump makes no secret of the fact that June 14 is meant to be more than a symbolic date. He wants to show strength. Resolve. Control. Those who protest on that day, he said, will be met with very great force. The National Guard is standing by. The procession is more than a parade – it is a show of power.
Mayors like Eric Adams in New York are still holding back publicly. But their statements show that a state of emergency may only be a matter of time there as well. We are prepared to suppress any form of violence, Adams said – leaving open how far he himself is willing to go. What is unfolding these days is no coincidence. It is the systematic shifting of democratic lines – the militarization of civil conflict, the suppression of discourse in favor of threat. The protests are more than anger over raids. They are a defense of the core idea that human dignity does not end at the border. And that resistance is not only a right but a duty.
June 14 – A Nation’s Day of Reckoning
Whether this Saturday becomes a show or a fracture remains to be seen. But one thing is clear – the United States is facing a moment that could decide everything – the narrative, the memory, perhaps even the direction of its future. The president marches. But the people rise.
California may be the first target, said Gavin Newsom, but it will not be the last. He is right.
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