By JIM VERTUNO, Associated Press
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Protests over federal immigration enforcement raids and President Donald Trump’s move to mobilize the National Guard and Marines in Los Angeles are spreading nationwide and are expected to continue into the weekend.
While many demonstrations against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency have been peaceful, with marchers chanting slogans and carrying signs, others have led to clashes with police, hundreds of arrests and the use of chemical irritants to disperse crowds. In Texas, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott posted on social media that an unspecified number of National Guard troops “will be deployed to locations across the state to ensure peace & order.”
Activists say they will hold even larger demonstrations in the coming days, with “No Kings” events across the country on Saturday to coincide with Trump’s planned military parade in Washington, D.C.
The Trump istration said immigration raids and deportations will continue regardless.
A look at some protests across the country:
New York City
Police detained more than 80 people during protests in lower Manhattan’s Foley Square on Tuesday evening and early Wednesday.
Protesters shouted and waved signs that included “ICE out of NYC” as they rallied near an ICE facility and federal courthouses. Police estimated some 2,500 people participated. Some protesters jumped over metal barricades and clashed with officers who wrestled them to the ground. Video shows demonstrators throwing items at law enforcement vehicles.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said most of the demonstrators were peaceful and that just a few caused the disorder that required police intervention.
“We want to maintain everyone’s right to protest peacefully in this city and in this country, but we will not tolerate chaos and disorder or violence,” Tisch said Wednesday morning during an appearance on Fox 5 New York.
Police said they took 86 people into custody, including 52 who were released with criminal court summonses for minor crimes and 34 who were charged with assault, resisting arrest and other crimes.
San Antonio
A protest is planned Wednesday night in downtown San Antonio outside the historic Alamo. San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said his department encourages peaceful demonstration but will respond “if something goes south and it turns violent.”
Mayor Ron Nirenberg said he did not ask the governor to deploy the Texas National Guard to the city and city leaders said they did not know how many troops had been sent, where they would be stationed or what they would do.
Another protest is planned in San Antonio on Saturday.
“I want to acknowledge the anger and frustration that’s out there with the federal government’s crude interpretations of immigration law and cruel approach to human rights,’ Nirenberg said. ”Exercise your right to free speech, but I urge you to keep it lawful and peaceful.”
Philadelphia
About 150 protesters gathered outside the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia on Tuesday afternoon and marched to ICE headquarters then back to the detention center.
Police ordered a group marching along a major road to disperse and when they ignored the orders officers arrested 15 of them. Several officers used force during the arrests and their conduct will be reviewed, police said, without detailing what kind of force was used. Two officers suffered minor injuries.
San Francisco
About 200 protesters gathered outside the San Francisco Immigration Court on Tuesday after activists said several people were arrested there.
Protests in the city on Sunday and Monday swelled to several thousand demonstrators, and more than 150 people were arrested after some vandalized buildings and damaged cars, police vehicles and buses. Police said two officers suffered non-life threatening injuries.
Seattle
About 50 people gathered outside the immigration court in downtown Seattle on Tuesday, chanting with drums and holding up signs that said, “Free Them All; Abolish ICE” and “No to Deportations.” Protesters blocked building entrances until police arrived.
Mathieu Chabaud, with Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Washington, said they were there in solidarity with the Los Angeles protesters, “and to show that we’re opposed to ICE in our community.”
Legal advocates who normally attend the immigration court hearings as observers and to provide to immigrants were not allowed inside. Security guards also turned journalists away from the usually public hearings.
Chicago
Police say a 66-year-old woman was injured when she was struck by a car during protests in downtown Chicago.
Crowds of demonstrators took over a plaza and some surrounding streets during rush hour on Tuesday evening. Video footage shows a car speeding along a road where people were protesting.
Police said the injured woman was treated for a fractured arm and that no other injuries were reported. Police are investigating and no charges have been filed.
Denver
A group of protesters gathered before the Colorado state capitol, creating a sea of cardboard signs, one exhorting: “Show your faces. ICE cowards.” The group then split in half, with hundreds chanting and marching down two thoroughfares and crowding out traffic.
Police ordered them to disperse. Officers used smoke and pepper balls to control the crowd and 17 people were arrested, Denver police said Wednesday.
Associated Press writers Martha Bellisle in Seattle; Sophia Tareen in Chicago; Michael Hill in New York; Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut; and Jesse Bedayn in Denver contributed.
