May Day protesters across US decry Trump policies, call for rule of law

Lawyers, teachers and politicians marched among thousands of demonstrators across the U.S. on Thursday to protest President Donald Trump’s policies on immigration, the targeting of lawyers and judges, and the power of wealthy decision-makers.

Jennifer Vasquez Sura, whose husband Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a U.S. resident the administration sent by mistake to a prison in El Salvador, spoke at a Washington rally that was among the protests organized by lawyers’ groups and by a coalition of more than 200 labor unions and immigrant rights advocates.

“He was illegally detained, abducted and disappeared by the Trump administration, though they admitted it was an error,” Vasquez Sura said, adding her husband has endured “50 days of suffering.”

“For everyone watching, keep fighting,” she said. The crowd responded with chants of: “Bring Kilmar home.”

Organizers have accused the Trump administration of prioritizing profits for billionaires and called on it to invest in working families by fully funding healthcare, housing and public schools.

“It’s a clear split screen between the priorities of the Trump administration and what regular people want and need,” said Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, a consumer rights advocacy group and a co-organizer of the Washington rally.

Organizers expected hundreds of thousands of protesters across the country, hoping for the biggest May Day Protests in U.S. history. Previous protests have garnered thousands of attendees since Trump returned to office.

Federal workers have been fired as Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, a top adviser heading a new Department of Government Efficiency, have moved to slash government departments and fire workers.

U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar told a crowd in Washington the administration’s actions were “eliminating oversight so corporations can exploit workers without consequences.”

Days after Trump celebrated his first 100 days in office with a campaign-style event in Michigan, the rallies came as Democrats sought a unified response and a galvanizing leader.