More than 1,000 people gathered in Orlando on Saturday afternoon to send a message to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: Get out of Central Florida.
The protest started at noon on the southwest edge of Fashion Square Mall and quickly spread to all four corners at the intersection of East Colonial Drive and Herndon Avenue during the Ice Out of Orlando protest. Protesters of all age groups and ethnicities chanted and waved signs while passing motorists honked at them.
Corey Hill, one of the event’s organizers with 50501 Orlando (50 protests, 50 states, 1 movement), said afterward he was pleased with how smoothly things went.
“It was pretty successful. I am not the best crowd estimator but we handed out 500 signs and there were more than that,” Hill said. “I would venture to guess somewhere in the close to 2,000 range.”
Similar protests took place around the nation in the wake of the turmoil in Minneapolis, where two protesters have been shot and killed by ICE officers.
At least one person donned an inflatable costume for the Ice Out of Orlando protest on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, near Fashion Square Mall. More than 1,000 people gathered at the intersection of East Colonial Drive and Herndon Avenue. (Brian Bell/Orlando Sentinel)
As the event got underway there were about a dozen Orlando Police Department vehicles in the mall parking lot behind the protest. Many of the officers got on bicycles while others were on foot. There didn’t appear to be law enforcement officers from other agencies, local, state or federal.
Hill said he wasn’t aware of any incidents between protesters and police.
“It was pretty frictionless all around” and he said he saw few counter-protesters: “There was a guy standing in the parking lot for probably an hour glaring at us and a few people flipped us off.”
People waved an assortment of signs — some were elaborate while others were simply writing on paper plates or notebook paper. Walking along the route you could hear cowbells and tambourines among chants including “No justice, no peace,” and “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here.”
Many of the more than 1,000 people gathered Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, at the intersection of East Colonial Avenue and Herndon Drive near Fashion Square Mall for the Ice Out of Orlando protest carried an assortment of signs, chanted and waved to passing motorists. (Brian Bell/Orlando Sentinel)
Alice, a woman in her 70s, was there with her husband. She said they came out of concern for the direction of the nation.
She said she worked in Washington, D.C., during the Watergate Hearings of 1973 while President Richard Nixon was in office, and ultimately resigned, and the political climate is very different now than it was then.
“I hate the hate, this is horrible,” she said. “We used to be able to have political difference, policy differences and discussions about the direction we should take without demonizing the opposition.”
Sisters Caitlyn, left, and Leah, both in their 40s, said the protest Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, near Fashion Square Mall in Orlando was their first ever. They said they have immigrant friends and don’t like that they are living in fear for themselves and their children. (Brian Bell/Orlando Sentinel)
Two sisters, Caitlyn and Leah, both in their 40s, said this was their first protest ever. Both said they have immigrant friends and don’t like that they are living in fear for themselves and their children.
“They’re afraid, so I’m here for them, because they deserve to be here as much as every other person,” Caitlyn said.
The sisters said they were pleased to see such a diverse group of people gathered for the same cause.
“You see people from all across the spectrum,” Leah said. “Young, old, white, Black, brown, everybody is here because it’s worth it for our friends and our neighbors to be here and be the voice for people who can’t have their voice right now.”
A couple brought their son, 11, and daughter, 9, to the Ice Out of Orlando protest Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, along East Colonial Drive near Fashion Square Mall. The parents said they felt it was important for their children to learn about what’s going on in the nation by experiencing it firsthand. (Brian Bell/Orlando Sentinel)
One couple brought their son, 11, and daughter, 9, because they thought it was an important lesson for them.
“We know some people who have been detained illegally that are here with legal paperwork and are not violating any laws and they are in prison right now,” the father said. “We just think that ICE has crossed the line and they need to follow the rules like everyone else does.
“And we think it’s important for our kids to learn that when people cross those boundaries that they can stand up and use their voice to try to make a difference.”