Last updated: 2026-10-19

ICE Protests and Unrest in the United States, 2025 to October 2026

Protests against immigration enforcement have followed major operations in Los Angeles (June 2025), Chicago (September 2025), Portland, Charlotte, New Orleans and Minneapolis-St Paul (December 2025 to February 2026), including the fatal shootings of two US citizens, Renee Good on 7 January 2026 and Alex Pretti on 24 January 2026 (MPR; FactCheck.org). On 23 December 2025 the Supreme Court refused, 6-3, to let the administration deploy the National Guard in Illinois (Capitol News Illinois). The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says assaults on officers rose by more than 1,000 percent, but it has not released its method, and court records show a smaller rise (LAist).

Last updated 19 October 2026. This page records what is documented and what each side says. Claims are attributed, not endorsed. Where a figure comes from one side only, the text says so.

Timeline: key dates

What happened in the LA ICE riots?

On 6 June 2025 immigration raids in Los Angeles drew crowds and evening clashes, leading to a curfew, 575 LAPD protest arrests by 16 June and the federalisation of California's National Guard (ABC News; Officer.com).

A crowd tried to stop vehicles carrying detainees, and that evening protesters outside the Roybal Federal Building threw bottles. On 7 June deputies used tear gas in Paramount and a car was set on fire in neighbouring Compton. Mayor Karen Bass said there had been no raids in Paramount that day (ABC News). Whether "riot" is the right word is itself disputed, and this page uses "unrest".

• Scale. LAPD counted 575 protest-related arrests from 7 to 16 June, including 14 for looting, and 10 injured officers (LAPD). The worst night was 10 June, with 197 arrests, and 23 downtown businesses were looted on 9 June (ABC News). No deaths and no consolidated damage total were found. The curfew was lifted on 17 June (Officer.com).
• Troops. Trump's 7 June memo authorised 2,000 California Guard. Another 700 Marines arrived on 9 June and 2,100 more Guard on 10 June. ABC described it as the first time since 1965 a president mobilised a state's Guard without the governor's consent (ABC News).
• Reactions. Trump said he would invoke the Insurrection Act if there were an insurrection. Governor Gavin Newsom called the deployment an abuse of power, as did 22 Democratic governors in a joint statement (ABC News). No named Republican congressional statement was captured.

What happened in Chicago, Portland, Charlotte and New Orleans?

Chicago's Operation Midway Blitz produced a force-limits injunction and the Guard case that reached the Supreme Court; Portland produced a permanent injunction against Guard use; Charlotte and New Orleans were mainly arrest operations with little documented unrest.

Chicago (from September 2025)

The operation centred on the Broadview ICE facility, the focus of protest (NPR Illinois). DHS put arrests above 3,000 by late October; no independent total was found (CBS Chicago).

• Shootings. An ICE officer killed Silverio Villegas Gonzalez in Franklin Park on 12 September (secondary: Wikipedia). A Border Patrol agent shot US citizen Marimar Martinez on 4 October. Prosecutors dropped the case against her in November after defence lawyers produced evidence the agent swerved into her car; DHS said it stands by its original statements (NBC News).
• Force limits. Judge Sara Ellis restricted tear gas and similar weapons to people posing an immediate threat, writing that Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino repeatedly lied about clashes and that video contradicted government accounts (CBS Chicago). The Seventh Circuit stayed the order as overbroad (Capitol News Illinois).

Portland

After months of protests at the South Waterfront ICE facility, 200 Oregon Guard were federalised on 28 September 2025. Judge Karin Immergut issued restraining orders on 4 and 5 October and a permanent injunction on 7 November, finding Tenth Amendment and statutory violations. The government dropped its appeals on 17 February 2026, leaving the injunction in place (Oregon DOJ). On 8 January 2026 Border Patrol shot two people in a traffic stop; DHS said the driver weaponised his vehicle, and about 500 people protested, with 6 arrests (KUOW).

Charlotte and New Orleans

In Charlotte (from 15 November 2025), DHS reported 425 or more arrests by 3 December (WBTV). DHS called 44 of about 130 early detainees criminals, while Axios estimated criminal history was unclear for 86 to 206 (Axios). Governor Josh Stein accused agents of racial profiling. In New Orleans (from 3 December), Border Patrol cited about 350 arrests, and DHS later estimated roughly 560 without naming individuals (Fox 8). Louisiana leaders supported it (Louisiana Illuminator). No large-scale riot was documented in either city.

What is Operation Metro Surge?

Operation Metro Surge was a DHS enforcement operation in Minneapolis-St Paul that began in December 2025 and was declared over by Tom Homan on 12 February 2026; DHS called it its largest operation (Axios).

• Scale. A Justice Department attorney testified that by 26 January at least 2,000 ICE and 1,000 Customs and Border Protection officers were involved. A March records release showed at least 3,789 arrests, fewer than a quarter of them of people with criminal records (secondary: Wikipedia). The same source also gives about 3,000, and neither is checked against a primary document.
• Background. The same source says the operation began amid a viral video alleging fraud at day-care centres run by Somali community members, and that state investigators found no evidence of fraud at the sites shown. See Somali communities.
• Protest and security response. Tens of thousands protested nationally on 10 January, with 29 arrests in Minneapolis, and statewide strikes followed (secondary: Wikipedia). Trump said he would invoke the Insurrection Act if Minnesota politicians did not obey the law, then said a day later there was no reason to "right now". About 1,500 soldiers were put on standby (AP via WTOP). No troops were deployed in the sources reviewed.
• Courts. Judge Katherine Menendez denied Minnesota's request to halt the surge on 31 January (Fox 9). Her separate order limiting tactics against protesters was stayed by the Eighth Circuit (Fox 11). Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz found ICE violated at least 96 court orders in January (secondary: Wikipedia). Federal prosecutors charged people from an 18 January church protest, including journalist Don Lemon, who pleaded not guilty on 13 February; outcomes were not confirmed (Minnesota Reformer).
• Ending. Homan announced a 700-agent withdrawal on 4 February and said the surge would end on 12 February, crediting jail-cooperation agreements; Governor Tim Walz and the sheriff said their policies had not changed (NBC News). Trump removed Noem on 5 March (Fox 9).

Who was Renee Good?

Renee Good, 37, a US citizen and mother of three, was shot three times and killed by ICE officer Jonathan Ross in her SUV in Minneapolis on 7 January 2026 (MPR). Agents reportedly waited three minutes to call 911 and did not give CPR (same source).

• Administration account. Secretary Noem called it domestic terrorism and said Good weaponised her vehicle; Vice President JD Vance called her death a tragedy of her own making (CBS News). DHS continues to defend it as self-defence (ProPublica).
• Democratic officials' account. Mayor Jacob Frey called the administration's account false after seeing the video, and Walz said officials had stated verifiably false things (same CBS report). CNN's review of three videos found nuance (CNN). The footage is ambiguous enough that both sides cite it.
• Investigations. The FBI took over, and the county and state sued for access to evidence (ProPublica). As of 1 October 2026 no charge had been filed, and Good's family filed two federal civil suits that day (Fox 9; NPR). A claim online that the officer was "cleared of all charges" was rated false by Snopes.

Who was Alex Pretti?

Pretti, 37, an intensive-care nurse, was shot by Border Patrol agents on 24 January 2026 while observing an operation. About 10 shots were fired, and police said he held a carry permit (FactCheck.org).

• DHS account. DHS said he approached officers with a handgun, Noem said he attacked them, and adviser Stephen Miller called him an assassin (same source).
• Video analysis. The Star Tribune found no footage of him pointing or firing a gun and saw a phone in his hand. Bellingcat and CNN concluded an agent appeared to remove the gun before shots were fired (FactCheck.org; Bellingcat). A CBP initial report did not repeat Noem's claim (KIMT/CBS).
• Investigations. The FBI told the state on 13 February it would not share material (ProPublica). The Justice Department opened a civil-rights inquiry (Yahoo report). As of October there was no charging decision (Fox 9).

A third Minneapolis shooting, of Julio Sosa-Celis on 14 January, is the only one to produce a criminal case: assault charges against him were dropped after video contradicted ICE agent Christian Castro's account, and Castro has been charged (same Fox 9 report).

What happened in the other 2026 episodes, month by month?

After Minneapolis, the documented flashpoints were Newark in May, two fatal traffic-stop shootings in July and a shooting with protests in New York in October; some months show no discrete street episode in the sources reviewed.

• January. Minneapolis and Portland (above), clashes in Frederick, Maryland (The Banner), and national "ICE Out" walkouts (CBS Los Angeles).
• April. No new large-scale clash was identified, and federal investigations of the Minneapolis shootings were reported as stalled (NPR). This is a coverage gap, not a confirmed quiet month.
• May. At Delaney Hall in Newark, Sen. Andy Kim was pepper-sprayed, Governor Mikie Sherrill was denied entry, Mayor Ras Baraka imposed a curfew, and state police took over the perimeter after ICE agreed to stand down. An organiser said police arrested 46, which is unconfirmed (NJ Globe).
• June. A Los Angeles anniversary protest (6 arrests) and Prairieland sentences (KTLA).
• July. An ICE officer shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, in Houston on 7 July; ICE said he rammed a vehicle, and his family disputes that (NBC News). After a second killing, of Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero, 25, in Biddeford, Maine, ICE paused traffic stops, and Trump said ICE could not give up the tool (NBC New York). Whether the pause was reversed is unverified.
• October (to the 19th). In New York an agent shot Oscar Belgal, 28, in his car. DHS says he is in the country illegally with alleged gang ties, and a federal judge temporarily barred his deportation. Hundreds marched, and four arrests were reported (CBS New York; AZFamily). In Oregon, agents used tear gas on protesters blocking a highway, and ICE said officers respond to disturbances to de-escalate (KSNB).

Are attacks on ICE agents increasing?

Both things are documented: assaults and vehicle incidents rose and some attacks were serious, but the size of the rise DHS reports is unverified, and court-record data show a smaller increase (LAist).

Documented attacks

• Alvarado, Texas (4 July 2025). A group gathered outside the Prairieland centre, set off fireworks, and police lieutenant Thomas Gross was shot in the neck and survived. The Justice Department called the defendants a North Texas antifa cell; defendants said it was meant as a noise demonstration. On 13 March 2026 a jury convicted Song of attempted murder and terrorism-related counts; four co-defendants were acquitted of attempted murder but convicted of rioting and material support. Song received 100 years and others 30 to 70 (Texas Standard; KERA).
• Dallas (24 September 2025). Joshua Jahn, 29, fired from a rooftop at an ICE facility and killed himself as agents approached. Three detainees were hit and one died; no officers were hurt (Fox 9). Early reports of two deaths were corrected to one.

DHS claims and the data

Prosecutions. An Associated Press analysis of 102 felony assault-on-officer arrests in Los Angeles, Chicago, Portland and Washington in 2025 found 41 percent were dismissed and 34 percent reduced to misdemeanours; all 12 trials ended in acquittal, mistrial or dismissal. In 2024, 82 percent of such defendants were convicted (AP via PBS). The Justice Department's position is that prosecutors are right to prioritise assaults on federal officers and to drop charges when mitigating factors arise (same source).

Reading of the evidence. Assaults and vehicle incidents did rise and some were serious. The scale of the rise is unverified, and many prosecuted cases involved minor or no injury. Both statements are supported.

What is the debate over masked ICE agents?

DHS says masks protect officers from doxing; critics, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police, say face coverings erode public trust (AP via ADN; HPPR/NPR).

• DHS view. Officers carry credentials and identify themselves when required. CBS found no federal mask policy (CBS Minnesota).
• Critics. The ACLU's Naureen Shah called the practice without modern precedent (AP via ADN). Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara cited an FBI bulletin about people impersonating ICE (Fox 9). The National Sheriffs' Association's Justin Smith suggested masks with visible badge numbers.
• Law. On 9 February 2026 Judge Snyder blocked California's mask ban as applied to federal agents because it likely discriminates against them, but let the identification requirement stand (LAist).
• Congress. Senate Democrats demanded body cameras, warrants and unmasking for DHS funding (Axios). Sen. Thom Tillis opposed requiring unmasking. A DHS shutdown followed, and a June funding package passed without mask or warrant mandates (NPR).

How big were the No Kings protests?

Organisers claimed more than 8 million participants on 28 March 2026, up from about 7 million in October 2025; no independent national tally exists for the latest event (Source NM).

The marches were overwhelmingly peaceful in the reporting reviewed. "No Kings" covers broader themes than immigration, although enforcement was a driver.

Can Trump send the National Guard to cities?

Not on the current record in Illinois, Oregon or California: on 23 December 2025 the Supreme Court denied, 6-3, the administration's request to deploy the Guard in Illinois, saying it had not identified legal authority for the military to execute the laws there (Capitol News Illinois). Justices Alito, Thomas and Gorsuch dissented. The order was interim, so the merits were not decided.

The administration's position is that the President may federalise Guard units to protect federal personnel; a Ninth Circuit panel accepted this in June 2025 while calling its review highly deferential (Time). On 31 December 2025 Trump announced the Guard's withdrawal from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland and said troops could return (iHeart/KFI). The Insurrection Act was threatened over Minneapolis but not invoked in the sources reviewed. For other rulings see policy and courts.

Who says what? Positions and sources

Each side uses its own vocabulary. The administration describes opponents as rioters, "antifa" or domestic terrorists, and its operations as targeting "criminal illegal aliens". Critics call the agents "secret police" and the operations retribution against Democratic jurisdictions. Both are advocacy framings and neither is adopted here. Verified specifics are narrower: Prairieland produced jury convictions on terrorism-related counts, a large share of protest-related assault charges failed (AP data), and the Minneapolis and Chicago shootings produced contested video and no completed federal prosecution of an agent as of October 2026. For polling on enforcement, see US immigration statistics.

What is unverified or conflicting?

• Arrest totals. Metro Surge, Chicago, Charlotte and New Orleans totals are DHS or secondary-source figures with no independent tally.
• Pretti charges. No charging decision for the killing had been announced as of 1 October 2026; reports of charges against agents are not adopted.
• Los Angeles. Injury counts beyond LAPD's 10 officers and any damage total rest on secondary sources only.
• Traffic-stop pause. Sources conflict on whether it was reversed.
• Coverage gaps. Republican congressional reactions to Los Angeles and Minneapolis, and the outcomes of the church-protest cases, were not captured.

Related pages

• United States overview
• US immigration statistics: foreign-born and unauthorized population
• US border encounters, ICE arrests and deportations
• US immigration policy and court rulings
• Somali communities
• World immigration overview