Trump Visits Detroit Almost a Year After ICE Entered Detroit Communities
Community activists in the Detroit political landscape organized an emergency protest for January 13, 2026, to coincide with President Donald Trump’s arrival in Detroit for a speaking engagement at Motor City Casino for the Detroit Economic Club. His agenda also included a visit to a Ford Motor Company plant in Dearborn, Michigan.
Needless to say, it wasn’t a warm welcome if he was looking for people to throw him a parade. Protestors lined both sides of Trumbull at the back of Motor City Casino’s campus, with various signs. Some gave attention to the desired removal of ICE officers in the city (and the United States), the ever-clever dunks on Trump’s cartoonish personality, calling out the Oligarchy, demanding justice for Renee Good and those who met a similar fate at the hands of ICE, and Trump’s pedophilia scandal, which is currently going viral once again due to Sascha Riley‘s audio-recorded testimony being published online. His visit to the Ford plant also didn’t go quite as planned.
SEE: FORD MOTOR COMPANY PLANT WORKER CALLED TRUMP A “PEDOPHILE PROTECTOR,” TRUMP REACTS WITH MIDDLE FINGER AND OBSCENITIES, UAW MEMBER WHO SHOUTED AT TRUMP HAS NOW BEEN SUSPENDED
@itshbkey Trump at ford #trump #donaldtrump #ford #dearborntruckplant ♬ original sound – itshbkey
IT’S BEEN A YEAR.
There are multiple reasons why Detroiters would venture into the cold and rainy Tuesday weather to oppose Trump after the year we’ve had with him back in office, and while it’s been on record that he has his opinions on the city, likening it to a “shit hole,” this is just a surface reason compared to the other issues at hand.
One of the many issues to cite? Detroit has been experiencing consistent ICE patrols, and while it is not to the degree of intensity that Minnesota is currently facing in the wake of Renee Good being killed by ICE “Officer” Jonathan Ross in broad daylight on January 7, 2026, that does not diminish the fact that individuals are being hunted by this government-sanctioned squad that is generating public comparisons to Hitler’s Gestapo. When ICE agents attack, they use excessive force, and ask questions later — barging into homes without warrants signed by judges, attacking or injuring civilians, and kidnapping people who’ve done nothing wrong, many of whom are in fact American citizens.
It has been almost a year to the date since ICE showed up in the Detroit community. Reports of sightings began shortly after Trump’s inauguration, starting as early as January 21, 2025. Since then, multiple groups have formed or taken on the burden of fighting back against the administration as a whole, with ICE being one of the pain points they are tackling. Rallies, protests, community events, and more have sprung up over time opposing the Trump Administration, and have even collaborated with our Canadian neighbors, who joined on the other side of the Detroit River. One protest last April garnered over 7,000 attendees, marching down Woodward Avenue, with aerial footage showing the mass movement gaining traction.
Today’s protest, by an educated estimation, puts the attendees at around 200 or more people. The Detroit Free Press reports that they saw police detain at least two people in their article, but they fail to mention in the article what was in their social post: that one of those individuals was identified wearing a Make America Great Again hat, the mark of Mr. Trump.
Still, some believe (and urge) that more than just waving quippy signs will need to be done to make a lasting impact. As the ICE raids have begun to become more and more frequent, many are calling for a general strike across the U.S. to get the point across, while others express how they’re already on the brink of homelessness or need special medications and do not have the means to strike.
The community groups in Detroit are split between multiple ideologies, desired missions, intensity levels, and have the parameters of how they offer their services to the Metro Detroit area. Many of these groups will collaborate or spread messages together to their respective followings, but keep their individuality due to the nuances of their beliefs. To keep tabs on further efforts, head to the accounts below that post about upcoming ways to help connect with the community on these ongoing issues, and find the right group that works for you. Chances are, we’re going to need to be leaning on each other more than we wish or realize. But remember this: community is what shields us, enforces our own safety, and helps us to know we’re not alone.
DETROIT POLITICAL AFFILIATED GROUPS ON INSTAGRAM
ASAMBLEA DETROIT // @Asamblea_Popular_Detroit
ACLU MICHIGAN // @acluofmichigan
BAMN [BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY] // @joinbamn
DETROIT CAC // @detroitcac
DETROIT ALLIANCE AGAINST RACIST AND POLITICAL REPRESSION // @detroitaarpr
DETROIT DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS // @detroitdsa
DETROIT WILL BREATHE // @detroitwillbreathe
DETROIT JEWS FOR JUSTICE // @detroitjewsforjustice
FREEDOM ROAD SOCIALIST ORGANIZATION – DETROIT // @frsodetroit
INDIVISIBLE METRO DETROIT // @indivisible_metro_detroit
MACOMB DEFENDERS // @macombdefenders
MICHIGAN GENERAL DEFENSE COMMITTEE //@michigangdc
NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD – DETROIT // @nlg_detroit
PARTY FOR SOCIALISM AND LIBERATION // @psldetroit
THE PEOPLE’S COALITION OF MICHIGAN // @thepeoplescoalitionmi
SDS WAYNE STATE // @sdswsu
WE THE PEOPLE DISSENT // @wethepeopledissent
WOMEN’S VOICES MOVEMENT // @womensvoicesmovement