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It’s the beginning of a new year - and one year since the start of the second Trump administration. From the invasion of Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, to the horrifying murder of Renee Nicole Good at the hands of ICE, the Trump administration has unleashed a relentless campaign of militarism at home and abroad. 

But people are not standing by silently. Across the country, communities are firmly defending their neighbors and loved ones. They are calling out the administration’s lawlessness - both in its brutal immigration enforcement and its reckless intervention of another country. The message from the masses is clear: no more.

On January 10 and 11, 2026, thousands gathered in Minneapolis and nationwide to protest and chant “ICE out for good!” In just a matter of days, a broad national coalition made up of civil rights and immigrant rights groups - including MoveOn Civic Action, the American Civil Liberties Union, Voto Latino, United We Dream, 50501, the Disappeared in America Campaign of the Not Above the Law Coalition - mobilized at least 1,000 events. Rallies and vigils filled major cities from Seattle to Chicago.

The momentum carried on when thousands more marched in New York City and other cities, linking calls of “No ICE!” with “No War!” in response to the Trump administration’s military strikes on Venezuela.

Militarism at home and around the world is a cornerstone of U.S. policy. In 2025 alone, 32 people died in ICE custody. For years, immigrants in detention have faced medical neglect, abuse, assault and harassment - atrocities that are well documented. And in the lead-up to the January 3 invasion, the Trump administration struck Venezuela boats at least 35 times.

Globally, this pattern reflects a longer history of U.S. imperialism. Across the Pacific, places like Hawai’i and Guam are heavily made up of U.S. military bases and have become the primary sites for nuclear weapons testing.

None of this could happen without the American taxpayer dollars allocated by Congress. President Donald Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” that passed in July 2025 handed $29.85 billion to ICE - enough to provide healthcare for 1.3 million Americans over the course of Trump’s term. And, at the National Priorities Project, we found that if Trump’s deportation force were a military, it would be the 13th highest-funded military in the world.

As people take to the streets, polls reflect growing opposition to ICE and Trump’s actions on Venezuela. The latest Civiqs poll shows that 42 percent of Americans support ending ICE with 49 percent opposed - the narrowest margin on record. Just a year ago, 24 percent supported ending ICE. 

On Venezuela, more than half of Americans think that Trump has gone too far in using the military to intervene in other countries, according to a recent poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

As the January 30 deadline for government funding quickly approaches, over 500 civil rights and human rights organizations delivered a letter to Congress demanding an end to ICE terror and lawlessness and calling for cuts to additional funding to immigration enforcement. 

We need to keep at it. A Senate measure to block further military action in Venezuela failed narrowly, with enough Republican defections that Vice President JD Vance had to cast the tie-breaking vote to defeat the measure. 

We’ll keep speaking up until our leaders listen. We can’t afford another war, and we can’t afford another life harmed and lost to ICE violence.