DC Area Held Protest Against Trump Policy
Outside the walls of the Department of Justice on Monday, the air was thick with chants, banners, and the roar of union power. A fiery coalition of the nation’s most prominent labor leaders and progressive lawmakers descended on Washington, D.C., to protest recent ICE raids in Los Angeles—an event that has triggered not just outrage, but a full-scale response from the Trump administration, including National Guard and Marine deployments.
At the center of the protest were two heavyweights: Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers and Becky Pringle of the National Education Association. The two union chiefs, commanding the loyalty of millions of public educators, were not there for polite negotiation. They were there to confront, to chant, to call down what they saw as injustice with words that rattled the microphones and ricocheted off the walls of the DOJ.
Crazy moments from today's anti-ICE protest outside the DOJ
Here's Randi Weingarten, boss of the American Federation of Teachers union bouncing around leading a chant
"The People! United! Will never be defeated!" pic.twitter.com/Zhvl899X73
— Mairead Elordi (@maireadelordi) June 9, 2025
“The people united will never be defeated!” Weingarten led, her voice full of urgency. At one point, visibly rattled by the trauma of the raids, she blurted, “Fix the godd*** immigration laws! Don’t arrest workers!” before quickly offering an apology: “Sorry, God. Sorry.”
The emotion was raw — and it wasn’t limited to labor leaders.
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal of Washington took the stage next, thundering against the administration’s handling of immigration enforcement. “Illegal immigrants are keeping this country going,” she said, her voice rising over chants of “Enough is enough!” and “What do we want? Stop ICE raids!” She framed the protest as a defense of American values: freedom of speech, due process, and democracy itself.
Jayapal also invoked the case of David Huerta, a California union leader arrested during an immigration protest, demanding his immediate release alongside others detained in the recent crackdowns. “This is not justice. This is injustice,” she declared, sparking even louder chants from the crowd.
️And here's progressive Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) shouting about constitutional rights
"Free the immigrants that have been arrested!" pic.twitter.com/Fl4CqMpgX9
— Mairead Elordi (@maireadelordi) June 9, 2025
Becky Pringle followed, channeling righteous indignation into a thunderous crescendo. “Enough of the cruelty and the hate!” she shouted. “Deliberate and unafraid, we will say, everyone is welcome here!” Drawing from the words of Audre Lorde, Pringle rallied the crowd around a vision of solidarity and constitutional promise: “We the people! All of us have that right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of justice!”
And it wasn’t just the education unions. Liz Shuler, president of the AFL–CIO — America’s largest labor federation — took the mic and voiced her support in both English and Spanish. “End these unjust ICE raids now! Ahora!” she demanded, condemning the militarized response to peaceful demonstrations. “Shame! Shame! Shame!”
As Los Angeles reels from the unrest — with police headquarters damaged, cars torched, and protesters arrested — the response in D.C. reveals the national stakes of this conflict. At issue are not only immigration laws, but the soul of America’s public institutions. The sight of labor leaders standing shoulder to shoulder with progressives, declaring allegiance to both workers and immigrants, signals a broader realignment: one where social justice, economic dignity, and constitutional rights are being welded together in public defiance.