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Which US cities have ongoing protests against ICE as of 2025?
Executive summary
As of the reporting in the supplied sources, large anti-ICE protests have occurred in many U.S. cities in 2025, including documented, continuing activity in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City and North Carolina’s Charlotte (and Raleigh) as federal operations expanded; Human Rights Watch and major outlets describe Los Angeles as a focal point and Charlotte/Raleigh as recent surge sites [1] [2] [3] [4]. Numerous news outlets and aggregations also list protests in dozens of other cities — at least 40 were identified by The Independent in June and Newsweek and Axios list additional cities such as Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle, Atlanta, Phoenix, Denver and San Francisco — but the intensity and persistence of demonstrations vary by place [5] [6] [7] [8].
1. Where reporting shows active, ongoing protests — spotlight cities
Los Angeles: multiple sources portray Los Angeles as the epicenter of both ICE operations and sustained public resistance through summer and into later 2025; Human Rights Watch says the summer LA raids “set the stage” for protests elsewhere and describes organized local networks that film agents and warn communities [1]. Chicago: Reuters reports regular clashes and arrests around the Broadview ICE facility and widespread protests in Chicago after intensified enforcement there, including faith leaders arrested and a federal judge curbing some crowd-control tactics [2]. New York City: coverage cites mass rallies in Foley Square and coordinated actions around ICE arrests with federal agents active in NYC neighborhoods [8] [6]. Charlotte (and Raleigh): national outlets describe a surge of Border Patrol/ICE activity in North Carolina with protests disrupting business districts; POLITICO and The New York Times note federal “surge” operations and local protests in Charlotte and Raleigh [4] [3].
2. A broader national map — dozens of cities saw protests, but details differ
Aggregators and national outlets list many additional cities that experienced anti-ICE demonstrations: The Independent identified anti-ICE protests in at least 40 U.S. cities during a June wave [5]. Newsweek and The Hill catalog protests and planned rallies in New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Tampa, San Francisco, Phoenix, Denver, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Seattle, and others; Newsweek earlier named coordinated actions in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Denver, Atlanta and New York City for a national day of action [6] [9] [7] [10]. Axios and Newsweek also reported mass turnouts in Chicago and New York tied to the Los Angeles unrest [8] [6]. These listings show wide geographic spread but not uniform intensity or duration [5] [7].
3. What “ongoing” means in reporting — persistent clashes vs. one-day rallies
Sources indicate different forms of activity: in some cities protests became weeks- or months-long flashpoints (Los Angeles and Chicago see recurring clashes and legal action) while other locales hosted single-day rallies or planned demonstrations in solidarity with LA (Newsweek, The Independent, Axios) [1] [2] [6] [5]. Human Rights Watch frames Los Angeles as generating ongoing mobilization and local infrastructure (legal observers, rapid-response networks), whereas many city mentions in aggregated lists reflect short-term-organized events [1] [5].
4. Legal and enforcement context shaping protests
Legal rulings and federal deployments altered protest dynamics: Reuters and The Atlantic note federal judges limited some crowd-control tactics in Chicago after findings of excessive force, and the federal government deployed National Guard and Marines in Los Angeles — moves that intensified protests and national attention [2] [8] [11]. POLITICO and NYT coverage of North Carolina show federal operations becoming a political flashpoint in local races, which can sustain protest activity [4] [3].
5. Conflicting accounts and reporting gaps to mind
Sources sometimes disagree on scale and character: ICE and some officials deny parallel allegations about indiscriminate or abusive tactics, while watchdogs and Human Rights Watch characterize the actions as part of a “campaign of raids” that terrorized communities [1] [6]. Aggregated lists (The Independent, Newsweek) report many cities but do not uniformly document whether protests continued past immediate responses; therefore, available sources do not mention a definitive, up-to-the-minute roster of “ongoing” protests in every named city [5] [7].
6. Bottom line and what remains uncertain
Available reporting clearly shows sustained protest activity in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City and Charlotte (with Raleigh noted), and widespread demonstrations across dozens of other cities during 2025; however, the persistence and intensity of protests vary by place and over time, and the supplied sources do not provide a single, current list of every city with active, ongoing protests as of late 2025 [1] [2] [3] [5] [6]. If you want a realtime, city-by-city status update, available sources do not mention a continuously updated roster — I can compile a checklist from these reports and flag which cities had recurring vs. one-day actions if you’d like.