Nationwide protests target ICE detention expansion under Trump administration

The push to block ICE’s plans to expand detention centers is fueling a coordinated national day of protests on Saturday. Organizers tell Axios that the momentum builds on the energy from the No Kings protests, where opposition to immigration enforcement was a leading reason for participation.

Key demands from the Communities Not Cages events include:

• Cancelling warehouse detention plans by the administration.
• Encouraging communities to reject public funding, approvals, or local resources for expanding migrant detention.
• Demanding transparency and community consent before any detention-related plans proceed.

ICE’s expansion plans and funding

The administration’s ramp-up is backed by a cash infusion from the One Big Beautiful Bill, which could add at least 116,000 beds to detention centers nationwide. Additionally, plans include 8 new mega-centers and 16 processing centers as part of President Trump’s goal to deport millions.

“I think for a really long time, people were able to turn the other way, or maybe ignore it. But with the new centers potentially in many Americans’ backyards, it’s hard to ignore.”

Resistance across political divides

ICE’s expansion is facing resistance not only in blue cities but also in conservative areas. For example:

• In a red pocket of Maryland, a judge ruled in mid-April that DHS failed to properly evaluate the environmental impacts of a proposed site. The facility, meant to hold thousands, could strain local sewers.
• In Social Circle, Georgia—where residents overwhelmingly voted for Trump in 2024—residents protesting a proposed facility say it could triple the town’s population and overwhelm local infrastructure.
• In Florida, the “Alligator Alcatraz” facility continues to face backlash from environmental and Indigenous groups, who argue it pollutes the ecosystem and subjects detainees to “torture” and “inhumane” conditions.

The Florida facility is emblematic of broader concerns about detention centers, which advocates say have inadequate sanitation, moldy food, and a history of abuse. Conditions, they argue, have worsened amid Trump’s immigration crackdown.

“The administration is subjecting people to conditions that are meant for storing products, not people.”

Protests and public response

Over 150 events are planned for Saturday in at least 33 states. Palacios notes that the protests were partially spurred by two on-camera deaths in Minneapolis earlier this year, calling them “a wake-up call that it could happen to you.”

Counterarguments from the administration

A DHS spokesperson asked Axios, “Where are the protests on behalf of the victims of criminal illegal aliens?” A White House spokesperson added that anti-Trump protesters are “nowhere to be found when illegal aliens murder or otherwise harm innocent American citizens.”

The bottom line

Organizers are encouraging all Americans to attend the protests, emphasizing that “everyone has skin in the game.” As Palacios states, “You don’t have to look a certain way.”