Lawyers, teachers, unionists and politicians were among the thousands who marched across the United States on Thursday in coordinated May Day protests aimed at President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration stance, mass layoffs in government agencies, and what they described as the growing power of corporate elites under his administration.
Rallies were held in major cities including Washington, New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, led by more than 200 labour unions and immigrant rights organisations. Protesters chanted slogans in support of federal workers, immigrant families and judicial independence, accusing Trump of running an administration “for billionaires, not the people.”
One emotional address came from Jennifer Vasquez Sura, who spoke at the Washington rally about her husband Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a US resident she said was “illegally detained, abducted and disappeared” to a prison in El Salvador due to a government error. “For everyone watching, keep fighting,” she said, as the crowd chanted: “Bring Kilmar home!”
Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen and one of the rally organisers, criticised the administration’s priorities: “It’s a clear split screen between what the Trump administration wants and what working families need.”
The protests followed Trump’s 100-day milestone in office, during which he held a campaign-style rally and ramped up controversial policy moves. Critics, including Representative Ilhan Omar and Senator Bernie Sanders, condemned the elimination of federal oversight mechanisms and warned of plans to further slash social safety nets like Medicaid.
Omar accused the administration of enabling corporate exploitation, saying: “They’re eliminating oversight so corporations can exploit workers without consequences.”
Speaking in Philadelphia, Sanders said, “What we are witnessing is not just injustice, it is systemic corruption.” He urged demonstrators to maintain pressure as Republican lawmakers reportedly paused cuts to Medicaid amid public backlash.
In New York, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez addressed a crowd of 6,000, warning that Republican leaders were likely to resume their push against Medicaid and other support programmes. “Our fight is not over,” she said.
Meanwhile, hundreds of lawyers rallied in Manhattan as part of a “National Law Day of Action.” Many criticised the administration’s pressure on the judiciary and praised judges who had pushed back on controversial executive orders.
Former acting attorney general Stuart Gerson, who served under both Republican and Democratic presidents, called for allegiance to constitutional principles rather than political loyalty: “You don’t pledge fealty to an individual, you pledge fealty to the Constitution.”
In Los Angeles, where banners read “LA labour stands with immigrants” and “Resist Fascism”, anger was also directed at Elon Musk, who now heads the newly established Department of Government Efficiency. He and Trump have led sweeping cuts across federal agencies, resulting in mass dismissals of civil servants.
Mark Diamond, a 62-year-old protester in LA, summed up the mood: “The constitution is being trampled on. If it takes four years, we’ll be out here 100 times.”
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