Who’s Behind the Anti-ICE Protests?

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) battles protestors daily who are opposing the rounding up of illegal aliens for criminal activities and deportation. These attacks are coming from multiple sources and challenge not only the effectiveness of the ICE forces but also endanger their lives. June 9 was the onset of the protests in Los Angeles:

Los Angeles descended into turmoil this weekend as left-leaning activist organizations, funded by taxpayer dollars, are believed to have intensified protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). What started as a relatively small demonstration opposing the Trump administration’s crackdown on criminal illegal immigrants rapidly escalated into violent clashes with law enforcement. Groups such as the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), closely connected to Democratic leaders and allegedly supported by billionaires with foreign ties, have been fueling the unrest while claiming to defend illegal immigrants' so-called rights.’

Unfortunately, our tax dollars had been funding, in part, CHIRLA:

According to Data Republican, CHIRLA and the Party for Socialism and Liberation are among the NGOs involved in the current unrest. Both organizations have a history of organizing protests targeting President Donald Trump. Between October 2021 and September 2024, CHIRLA was awarded nearly $450,000 in Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grants for citizenship education and training programs. When President Trump began his second term, approximately $100,000 remained from the grant. DHS's immigration division froze the remaining funds, prompting CHIRLA to file a lawsuit. In response, DHS canceled the contract, and the lawsuit was later withdrawn.

Meanwhile, other organizations are getting into the act. One group called the Save America Movement (not to be confused with the Save America PAC that Donald Trump formed) has been bringing in large donations:

A new Democrat-leaning activist group has raised more than $750,000 for ‘mobile response teams’ to confront Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during raids in California as agents face increasing violent assaults. The organization Save America Movement is asking for donations so its teams can ‘follow ICE raids in real time,’ according to a fundraising test message reported Thursday by Townhall columnist Dustin Grage. The group began launching its first political ads and social media accounts in June, and a fundraising webpage shows it aims to raise $1 million for the anti-ICE initiative. ‘ICE agents are raiding L.A. in masks without badges, names, or accountability … So the Save America Movement is launching Liberty Vans: mobile response teams with cameras, chaplains, lawyers and veterans, and show the world what’s happening in our communities,’ the text message says.

You read that correctly: lawyers, who you would hope would defend the rule of law but are aiding and abetting; chaplains, who are prepared to defy the law for an incoherent purpose and illegal goal; and veterans, who likely defended our country from invasion, are prepared to empower people who are here illegally as they crossed our borders.

Many other organizations have joined the anti-ICE protestors and have ample support:

The anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles are backed by well-financed, ideologically motivated groups that support the violent actions on the ground. These demonstrations are part of a larger, organized effort to undermine law enforcement by framing it as a social justice and immigrant rights issue, effectively turning the city’s streets into arenas for advancing a radical political agenda.

Organizations in cities across the nation are being funded for these dangerous and unlawful actions, including Austin, Dallas, Chicago, New York City, Seattle, Philadelphia, Atlanta and New Orleans.

How, and when, will it end?

[originally published at American Thinker]