Hundreds of demonstrators gathered across the Bay Area on Thursday evening in an extension to the day’s protests of a reported federal immigration crackdown in the region, capping a 24-hour period that saw an abrupt turnaround on plans to send agents to the region and a dramatic standoff in the East Bay.
The demonstration at the Oakland street entrance to Coast Guard Island, in the estuary, followed earlier clashes between protesters and federal personnel over a reported influx of over 100 federal agents into the Bay Area. After the demonstrations had already begun early Thursday, President Donald Trump announced that he would back down from a planned deployment into San Francisco.
Still, as the sun waned Thursday evening, it was unclear whether the rest of the Bay Area would also be free from federal enforcement efforts. Rallies against Trump’s latest moves took place in San Jose and San Francisco.
In front of San Jose City Hall, protestors carried signs reading “full rights for all immigrants” and “abolish ICE.” Others marched and joined in chants of “when ICE shows up, don’t freeze” and “from Chicago to the Bay, immigrants are here to stay”.
“This retreat is proof of people power,” said Uriel Magdaleno, an organizer with Community Service Organization San Jose who characterized the threat to send federal enforcement to the Bay Area as intimidation and condemned the use of law enforcement against protesters. “We will not back down, we will not tolerate ICE in our neighborhoods, we will mobilize in masses.”
Still, many protesters across the Bay expressed skepticism of Trump’s announcement that he would hold off of sending federal agents to San Francisco.
“I understand that he rescinded his intent to invade us, but he’s not exactly a trustworthy leader whose word we can depend on,” said Rebeca Armendariz, director of movement building for Working Partnerships USA, an advocacy organization that help organize the San Jose protest. “The community feels that. We feel that, and so we’re going to keep organizing, keep preparing and providing resources and services to our community so they’ll be empowered.”
Some attendees set up a table offering resources including contact information for the Rapid Response Hotline and red “know your rights cards” bearing instructions for how to behave if confronted by ICE.
Demonstrators protest a reported federal immigration crackdown in The Bay Area outside of San Jose City Hall on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (Robert Summa/Bay Area News Group)
Several local politicians and government officials joined the protesters, emphasizing the role of the county government in resisting the efforts of the Trump administration to crackdown on immigration or pull back federal funding.
“We take care of each other. We watch out for each other,” said Santa Clara Supervisor Betty Duong. “We will not have federal interference here — not today, not ever. We will not allow it.”
Santa Clara County Counsel Tony LoPresti said that the county has sued the Trump administration six times and that the county would do everything in its power to prosecute employers who may take advantage of immigrant workers.
“The law still matters,” he said. “If the federal government won’t obey and enforce the law, we sure as hell will.”
After the protest, organizers from various groups passed out flyers for further action.
A person wearing a bunny mask roller skated around the thinning crowd, and a man in a penguin suit — wearing a sign reading “Penguins Against ICE” — shot a bubble machine into the air, part of a national trend of using animal costumes at protests to highlight the perceived absurdity of the political moment.
“We’re only thriving because of our immigrant community, and I think it’s really important that we … support all of our folks,” said Eduardo Valladares, a 46-year-old teacher of San Jose, who was dressed in the penguin suit.
Carmen Martinez, director of organizing for Latinas Contra el Cancer, an organization aiming to create an equitable healthcare system for the Latino community, emphasized the necessity of mutual aid.
“Now is not the time to despair,” she said. “It is time to organize, to train, to prepare, to build networks of care strong enough to protect one another.”
The protest was not the only scheduled event in the Bay Area. Crowds were also being called to Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco for a similar rally at the same time. Bay Resistance, which organized the event, said in a statement on social media that “we are ready to stand with our communities against any ICE escalation or deployment of national guard elsewhere in the bay.”
Protesters face off with US Coast Guard personnel in Oakland, CA at the bridge to Coast Guard Island on Oct. 23, 2025. (Kyle Martin/Bay Area News Group)
In the East Bay, scores of protesters faced of with U.S. Coast Guard personnel at the bridge leading to Coast Guard Island in the waning light, chanting “ICE out of Oakland now” and “quit your job” to the agents stationed there.
Dana, 27, of Oakland, who declined to give her last name, brought a large cheese and a large pepperoni pizza to hand out to protesters who “have been out here all day” in support. She said “my stomach sunk” when she heard the threat to deploy federal troops: “Knowing that our communities can be so violently torn apart is gut-wrenching.”
Like others at the evening protest, she came after work to join the demonstration.
“We’ve got to protect our people, our community,” said Monica T., 33, of Oakland, who declined to give her last name. She said that her parents are immigrants, and said deploying federal troops was “a violation of what they’re here to do, which is to serve and protect us.”
By roughly 8 p.m., the Coast Guard personnel had moved further back onto the bridge, eliciting cheers from the protesters, who dispersed soon after.
This is a developing report. Check back for updates.
Originally Published: October 23, 2025 at 5:18 PM PDT