Trump’s ICE Crackdown Ignites Massive May Day Protests Across Bay Area

This May Day, the Bay Area witnessed a surge of defiant energy as thousands took to the streets to protest the Trump administration’s harsh immigration crackdown and its broader assault on working people. From San Francisco’s Civic Center to Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood, immigrant rights groups, labor unions, and community organizations joined forces to declare that the era of fear and repression must end.

The protests come amid a sharp escalation in ICE activity, which organizers say has transformed the agency into a militarized force terrorizing neighborhoods and workplaces. “We’ve seen our community in fear. We’ve seen our children not showing up to school,” said Citlali Fermin, co-coordinator of Oakland’s May Day actions. “Our goal is to bring our community to march in the streets with us.”

In San Francisco, the day began with an “ICE Out of San Francisco” rally at the airport, where workers are preparing to fight low wages and where ICE recently staged a violent, premeditated arrest of a mother and child, reportedly tipped off by TSA. Later, a march led by Mission Action wound through the city, stopping at federal buildings and Salesforce headquarters, where tech workers joined the call to prioritize workers over billionaire profits.

David Huerta, president of the Service Employees International Union–United Service Workers and a vocal critic of ICE’s brutal tactics, described this year’s rallies as the culmination of a year and a half of growing resistance. “We are in a fight with an authoritarian,” Huerta said. “The only way we can defeat authoritarianism is by winning elections. But to do that, we have to organize the masses and working people. This is an opportunity to flex that power.”

Across the Bay, in East Oakland’s Fruitvale, a resource fair and march rallied the majority Latino community, emphasizing solidarity and the urgent need for justice. Organizers acknowledged that not everyone can strike work or school but urged widespread participation to show strength in numbers.

This May Day was more than a protest; it was a clear message that the Trump administration’s war on immigrants and workers will be met with fierce, organized resistance. As California prepares for critical midterm primaries, these demonstrations underscore the political stakes and the growing power of grassroots movements determined to hold power accountable.