Thousands in US expected to protest against ICE, datacenters and voter suppression this weekend | Protest (US)

Thousands of Americans are expected to take to the streets this weekend to stage mass protests around the issues that will determine the midterm elections: widespread violence from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, voter suppression, and data center construction.

The protests, some recently planned in response to last week’s ICE shootings, others an annual event with new urgency, will take place not only in major cities and progressive towns but also in rural and red counties.

Protests in the US are increasing during Trump’s second term; Millions are marching against authoritarianism, ICE sanctions, the wars in Iran and Gaza, and the greed of billionaires. But progressives aren’t the only ones demanding change; Saturday’s protests against data centers were organized by conservatives opposed to big A.I.

ICE Output

more than 70 ICE Output Rallies will be held across the country on July 18 as part of the National Day of Action to demand justice for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, two men who were fatally shot by ICE agents during the same week this month. The killings of Salgado Araujo and Durán Guerrero have sparked growing calls to remove ICE from the streets; the latter was responsible for the 11th fatal shooting by federal immigration officials since the beginning of Trump’s second term.

Anti-ICE actions, which include demonstrations and vigils, are supported by a coalition of national progressive organizations including Answer Coalition and 50501.

“A lot of groups are signing on because we agree that ICE is terrorizing our communities, we need to stop ICE terrorism, and we need to dismantle ICE,” said Hunter Dunn, 50501’s national press coordinator.

Paul Ramirez, co-founder of immigrant rights group Valley Defense, which organized an “ICE Out” rally and vigil in North Hollywood, Calif., said organizers are not only demanding justice for the victims of ICE strikes, but also the arrest of the officers responsible.

“People are tired of seeing this every day,” he said, “but we will continue to fight no matter what.”

voting rights

A coalition of voting rights groups planned nearly 700 events over three days as part of the project. Having Good Trouble national weekend of action honoring the legacy of the late congressman and suffragist John Lewis. The first event last year coincided with the fifth anniversary of Lewis’ death and drew tens of thousands of people for a day of action.

Organizers say the upcoming Good Trouble protests are both a celebration of Lewis and a call to action ahead of the November midterms. Events are planned within the framework of the concept. Teach! To reach! Preach! – trainings, massive voter registration drives, community block parties, and sermons all focused on civic engagement and voting rights education.

“We see ourselves as building the movement that these times require,” said Barbara Arnwine, founder and president of the Transformative Justice Coalition, one of the groups spearheading the campaign. “Instead of people just attending a rally, an event, we want them to become voting rights activists.”

This year’s campaign comes at a disastrous moment for voting rights; That decision, punctuated by the Supreme Court decision gutting the Voting Rights Act, prompted a number of southern states to redraw congressional maps to reduce the power of Black and brown voters. At the same time, the Save America Act, which Donald Trump is pressuring House Republicans to pass, would ban mail-in ballots and impose new ID requirements on voters.

Daryl Jones, an attorney with the Transformative Justice Coalition, said he expects recent voter suppression efforts to increase turnout that could reach at least 100,000 people. But he said a more important metric is not turnout but reach: Organizers hope to attract a quarter of a million people to participate through voter education and registration efforts.

“There is a clear attack right now on the Black vote, the brown vote and the Native American vote,” Jones said. “One of the things we preach is that fear is contagious, but so is courage.”

AI data centers and bipartisan concern

Unlike most movements that have emerged since Trump returned to office, the revolt against data centers has been a consistently bipartisan phenomenon, galvanizing people on both sides of the political aisle. Grassroots groups postponed or canceled first three months of the year at least 75 data center projects According to the Data Center Watch report, it is worth more than $130 billion.

Humans First, a conservative advocacy group, is organizing a nationwide protest against the “uncontrolled expansion of data centers” on Saturday, with more than 100 events planned in 40 states. The demonstrations aim to “give rank-and-file Americans, especially rank-and-file conservatives, a voice in the critical debate over policies related to the construction of large AI data centers,” the group said in a press release.

“No issue ignites more anger among the conservative base than the issue of large AI data centers,” Amy Kremer, president of Humans First, said in a statement. “These data centers, which often benefit from the corporate welfare that Republicans claim to oppose, are being forced on communities that don’t want them.”