Thousands to Rally Across Washington on May Day to Demand End to ICE and Trump’s Deportation Machine

May Day is back with a roar in Washington state as thousands prepare to march and rally in cities like Seattle, Vancouver, and Yakima, sending a blunt message to the Trump administration: stop the mass deportations and dismantle ICE.

Last year, over 1,000 people showed up in Seattle alone, joining a tradition rooted in workers’ rights struggles dating back to the 1886 strikes demanding an eight-hour workday. This year’s protests are not just about better pay and conditions — the focus is razor sharp on immigration enforcement abuses.

Melissa Rubio, deputy director of immigrant rights group OneAmerica, says this year’s demand to defund and divest from ICE is louder and more urgent than ever. Protesters will call for Tacoma’s ICE detention center to be shuttered and for Washington state to cut ties with GEO Group, the private company profiting off detentions.

Seattle joins a nationwide economic boycott, urging people not to work, shop, or attend school on May Day to protest what Rubio calls a “rapidly growing authoritarian regime.” Organizers are taking care to ensure the march is accessible and safe, though they are keeping the route under wraps for security reasons.

While Seattle’s recent May Day events have been peaceful, the protests remain a critical platform for resisting the Trump administration’s attacks on immigrant communities and workers alike. Demonstrators will also demand that ICE agents be barred from this summer’s World Cup events in Seattle and that the state stop sharing licensing data with federal border authorities.

This isn’t just a protest; it’s a call to redirect tax dollars away from terrorizing working people and into supporting their survival and dignity. As Rubio puts it, the movement is open to anyone ready to organize for “a better world” beyond the current political and social crises.

May Day 2019 in Washington is shaping up to be a powerful stand against ICE, authoritarianism, and the ongoing assault on democracy itself. We will be watching—and so should you.