Seattle May Day protesters slam Trump, Musk over immigration and labor crackdowns

Hundreds of people packed Seattle’s Cal Anderson Park on Thursday for a rally observing May Day, also known as International Workers’ Day. Activists say this year’s rally and march are primarily a response to the Trump administration's crackdown on immigrants and pro-labor groups.

Chants of, "What do we do when our rights are under attack? Stand up fight back!" rang out in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, historically the central hub of Seattle’s activism. Rally-goers displayed homemade signs decrying President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who’s led some of the biggest overhauls to government agencies and fired thousands of federal workers.

May Day is always a busy day in Seattle, with groups usually demanding things like higher pay and improved working conditions for immigrants. But the tone seemed to intensify this year, coming on the heels of the first 100 days of Trump’s second term.

Demonstrators called for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the end of the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts. They also advocated for the shutdown of the Northwest Detention Center, a privately-run prison in Tacoma that houses undocumented immigrants before they’re deported by ICE.

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Thursday’s protest brought out people who said they don’t typically march on May Day but felt compelled to this year, including 24-year-old Hisham Hashi.

Hashi said he's worried about being targeted as a Muslim immigrant. His father was held at an airport during Trump's travel ban on majority Muslim countries in 2017. Now Hashi worries the administration’s deportation of migrants to third-party countries could also hit close to home.

“My family came from Somalia, so just seeing people get rounded up and thrown to vans or sent to El Salvador is pretty crazy,” Hashi said.

“It was a no-brainer to come out and support," he added.

People on Thursday also said they want Seattle to remain a sanctuary city and protect undocumented asylum-seekers in the city. The Trump administration has said cities and states that interfere or don’t assist with ICE operations could face lawsuits and cuts to federal funding.

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Shemona Moreno, a demonstrator and the executive director of the environmental justice nonprofit 350 Seattle, said she wanted to see local leaders take a stronger stand against the administration — and big corporations.

“I want to see our local leaders stop being such cowards,” she said.

“They care more about money and their own self interest than that of the rest of the city and…workers and immigrants are the backbone of our whole country, and getting rid of them — demeaning them — is just going to [make] it all crumble,” Moreno added.

Demands related to a ceasefire in Gaza and protections for trans people were also a big part of this year’s May Day.

After speeches and a round of chants in the park, the large crowd took to the streets marching from Capitol Hill to Westlake Center and through downtown Seattle.

The police presence at Cal Anderson remained muted on Thursday, with some officers monitoring the demonstration from bicycles and police cruisers.