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Hundreds of San Franciscans gathered in front of City Hall on Tuesday afternoon both to protest President Donald Trump as he celebrated his first year back in office, and to declare plans to do so again over the next three years. The rally was organized by a coalition of progressive organizations after a call to action from the Women’s March.
Protesters walk down Polk Street during an anti-ICE march at City Hall on Tuesday. Photo by Mariana Garcia.
Costumed protesters stand at Civic Center Plaza for an anti-ICE protest on Tuesday. Photo by Mariana Garcia.
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Some held signs opposing the U.S. military intervention in Venezuela. Others demanded the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Many carried posters featuring Renee Good, the woman who was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis earlier this month. Protesters chanted her name on several occasions throughout the afternoon.
Elizabeth Oliver, right, a sophomore at Mission High School, leads protesters in a chant. Photo by Mariana Garcia.
“In 2025, we were caught on the back foot,” Arthur Wolf from 50501 San Francisco, told the crowd in front of City Hall. “But we built power. In 2026, we solidify our power and we fight back.”
A Venezuelan flag flies in front of City Hall on Tuesday. Photo by Mariana Garcia.
A woman who identified herself as the “Unorganized Artist” holds a Trump puppet while wearing a Vladimir Putin mask at Civic Center Plaza on Tuesday. Photo by Mariana Garcia.
Also in attendance was District 11 Supervisor Chyanne Chen, who talked about a resolution she introduced at last week’s meeting of the Board of Supervisors, demanding that state and federal partners push for a third-party investigation into all ICE-related deaths nationwide, and calling for a moratorium on ICE detentions until the results of the investigation are made available and corrective action is implemented.
“In this moment, it is more important than ever to continue to stand together, to go against these terror attacks against our communities,” Chen said, drawing cheers from the crowd.
After gathering at Civic Center, protesters marched downtown before ending their march in front of the San Francisco Federal Building. Organizers estimated the number of protesters at 1,500.
Protesters walk down Market Street during an anti-ICE protest in downtown San Francisco on Tuesday. Photo by Mariana Garcia.
Protesters hold anti-ICE banners during a protest in front of the San Francisco Federal Building. Photo by Mariana Garcia.
Similar demonstrations were held across the country, including in New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., and organizers encouraged people around the country to walk out of their jobs or classes to participate — and to plan resistance to the Trump administration.
“On January 20, we call on our communities to organize teams,” read the call to action. “Call your neighbors and classmates, and turn your back and walk out on fascism. Host mutual aid planning meetings, organize public service, but walk out to block the normal routines of power, and make the stakes real. This is a protest and a promise. In the face of fascism, we will be ungovernable.”
Jim Martinez, a San Francisco resident, chants at an anti-ICE protest on Tuesday. Photo by Mariana Garcia.
Stella Gamez, a senior at Mission High, walked out of her class on Tuesday afternoon with several of her classmates to join the protest at City Hall. Her teachers were understanding, she said. “I came here for the abolishment of ICE. They need to get out of all our states,” she said. “They’re making these lies against my people. And I don’t appreciate that.”
High schoolers joined an anti-ICE protest as part of a walkout against ICE at Civic Center Plaza. Photo by Mariana Garcia.
Leila Salazar, executive director of Amazon Watch, a nonprofit organization advocating for the environment and indigenous rights in the Amazon Basin, attended the rally with her daughter. “Every single day of this year has been marked with chaos caused by the U.S. federal government,” she said. “This is not the world that we want to live in.”
Protesters march down Market Street in downtown San Francisco on Tuesday. Photo by Mariana Garcia.
Organizers encouraged the crowd to join a general strike on Jan. 23 by staying home from work or school, and refraining from shopping. The strike was endorsed by ISAIAH, a nonprofit coalition of Minnesota faith and community groups, and several unions, as a show of defiance against the killing of Renee Good by an ICE agent, and ICE’s continued presence in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Achieving a general strike is very difficult to do — by definition, enough people have to participate so that economic activity in an area is almost entirely halted. (In San Francisco, the best-known historical example is the 1934 Waterfront Strike). A long list of businesses within Minneapolis have already announced that they are closing on the 23rd.
Anti-ICE protesters march down Market Street. Photo by Mariana Garcia.
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