Protesters gathered at the Champaign City Building Tuesday evening as part of a nationwide day of protest among many activist groups on the anniversary of President Donald Trump’s second inauguration.
The protest in Downtown Champaign comes as multiple local groups seek to demonstrate against the Trump administration’s escalating immigration crackdown in Minnesota and threats to annex Greenland, with Tuesday’s protest organized by the Party for Socialism and Liberation of Central Illinois.
The demonstration began at the Champaign City Building, where organizers handed out dozens of signs to attendees displaying anti-Trump and anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement messages before directing a march looping around University, State, Church, and Neil Streets, remaining on the sidewalk.
Once demonstrators returned to the City Building, organizers gave a few more speeches and directed attendees to their upcoming meetings before dispersing.
George Klaras, an organizer with the PSL, mentioned an upcoming strike scheduled for Friday across Minnesota on what’s next in the nationwide push against the Trump administration.
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“On January 23rd, we’re looking at Minnesota,” Klaras said. “The unions are calling for a general day of action to shut down the whole state, essentially to drive ICE out of the state.”
Multiple protesters strongly opposed Trump sending federal agents to Democratic cities for immigration enforcement.
“We’re here to get ICE out of our communities, out of our neighborhoods,” said Arthur Paganini, one protestor representing PSL. “And really, obviously, standing in solidarity with the people that are in Minneapolis right now that are facing the real brunt of it.”
Both the states of Illinois and Minnesota have sued the Trump administration over its deployments of federal agents to Chicago and Minneapolis. Federal agents have also conducted some operations in Urbana.
“It’s not just Minneapolis,” Paganini said. “It’s all across the United States, even here.”
