Portland, OR – Nearly one year since Donald Trump took office as president, hundreds of Portlanders gathered to protest his latest attacks in what has been a brutal year for the American people and people across the world at the hands of U.S. aggression.

On January 17, Portland contra las Deportaciones (PDXCD) led the rally and march alongside Portland for Palestine and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), and the International League of People’s Struggle (ILPS).

Starting with a 10 a.m. art-build, signs reading “ICE out of Portland” and “Revoke the ICE permit” piled up at Terry Schrunk Plaza, waiting to be taken up by incoming attendees of the demonstration. The “Revoke the ICE permit” signs relate to PDXCD’s campaign to shut down Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center, a building that has served as a central hub for ICE and other federal agencies, including the Oregon and California National Guard last October.

As over 400 people filed into the plaza for the rally, the emcee for the event started with a message about community, encouraging those in attendance to look around at their community members and know who their allies are in the fight against Trump and his attacks. The chant ‘Show me what community looks like!” echoed back with, “This is what community looks like!” filled the plaza and reverberated into nearby streets.

A speaker from Portland for Palestine, Jason Ohman, laid out the reality of what the people of the U.S. have been through in the last year, from the economic hardships and extensive layoffs of federal workers to the terror that ICE has reigned on the streets of the country, recently shooting and murdering Rene Nicole Good in Minneapolis.

Speakers from PDXCD featured a nurse who recently received retaliation from Portland’s Legacy Emanuel Hospital for distributing Know Your Rights information to other staff members. The hospital has recently come under fire for aiding and abetting ICE operations, violating HIPAA and allowing ICE officials to dictate the care of detainees, including early discharge.

Another speaker discussed the most recent abuses from ICE across the country, highlighting the shooting of two Venezuelan immigrants just last week in Portland by border patrol agents; both individuals who were discharged prematurely from Legacy Emanuel Hospital to ICE detention after suffering gunshot wounds.

From the Portland District of the FRSO, Omar Gil spoke on the importance of rising up and fighting back against Trump’s attack on the people. Gil recounts his experience at the Emergency Southwest Summit Against Deportations earlier last year in Los Angeles; “I saw people ready to fight back, ready to organize in defense of our families and neighbors, ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with anyone and everyone that is ready to repel Trump’s attacks!”

Gil notes, “The most important thing we talked about that weekend was about the necessity to engage in struggle, rather than hiding and shrinking away. We need to pour gasoline on the fire that is the Trump presidency so that we can exact our demands!”

Militant struggle is the approach that Portland has taken directly when threatened with the National Guard occupation by Trump last year. While Democrat leaders of Portland and the state of Oregon told citizens to “not take the bait,” people poured into the streets surrounding the ICE facility in southwest Portland; a strategy that won the legal battle that blocked the National Guard from setting foot in Portland at all.

When the rally was wrapped up, a march ensued throughout downtown Portland. On a brisk and sunny winter day, many onlookers lined the streets and in intersections filming on their phones and giving gestures of support; some even joining in the march through the end.

Chants on the march were “Stand up, on your feet! Killer ICE off our streets!” and “Money for homes and education, not for war and occupation!” Police presence was heavy towards the back of the march, with many bike cops swarming the car that was tasked with following the march to ensure safety. One organizer directing traffic was threatened with arrest, citing that there was video evidence of alleged civil disorder; this was ultimately an empty threat.

The demonstration ended on a note of unity, with the emcee leading attendees in a chant, “An attack on one is an attack on all! United we stand, divided we fall!”

#PortlandOR #OR #ImmigrantRights #PDXCD

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