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The rally followed a series of nationwide walkouts earlier in the day and brought hundreds of protesters to Copley Square.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Copley Square Tuesday for a protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) coinciding with the one-year anniversary of the second Trump administration.
“I think that issues are always going to come up and change, but our analysis is always pretty clear, which is like all of these different attacks,” Boston Democrats Socialists of America co-chair Bonnie Jin told Boston.com. “Whether it is the illegal intervention in Venezuela or the militarism that we have seen in our streets in Minnesota, it’s all connected to this attack on working people.”
Using the bitter cold weather as a motivator, organizers led protesters in a chant of “It’s cold out, but the struggle is hot.” The sub-freezing temperatures later became a tongue-in-cheek segue into chants of “F— ICE.”
Representatives from the Boston branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, Boston Democratic Socialists of America, and the LUCE Immigrant Justice Network delivered speeches. Students from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School and Somerville High School who participated in the walkouts also spoke out.
“Whether it’s ICE terror in our communities, attacks on healthcare and SNAP, wars abroad, they think that using force and strength and bullying is going to beat us into submission,” Joe Tache, a PSL organizer, said in his speech. “It’s not going to happen because the truth is that is not strength; it’s cowardice masked as strength.”
Organized by the Boston PSL , the rally followed a nationwide series of walkouts earlier in the day. On the steps of the Boston Public Library, speakers condemned Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts, the killing of Renee Good by an ICE agent, and the strike on Venezuela and capture of its president, Nicolás Maduro, by the US.
After hearing from the speakers, protesters marched through Boylston Street and around Boston Common while participating in chants that ranged from defiant (“We want justice, you say how? ICE out of Boston now”) to optimistic (“One year longer, one year stronger”).
Reflecting on how the United States has changed since Jan. 20, 2025 gave many protesters a fresh wave of anger and disgust. For protester Stephen Downey Jr., the one-year point of the second Trump administration was as good a time as any to declare that enough is enough.
“I’m tired of this fascist regime,” Downey Jr. told Boston.com. “I’m tired of this rapist and pedophile and 34 [time] convicted felon sitting in office, ruining everyone’s lives, taking everyone’s health care, and everyone just supporting it. It’s time for us to stand up now and make a choice before it’s too late.”
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