May Day protesters across US rally against Trump policies, urge rule of law

WASHINGTON - Lawyers, teachers and politicians were among thousands of demonstrators across the US on May 1 protesting policies on immigration, the targeting of lawyers and judges and the role of wealthy decision-makers under President Donald Trump’s administration.

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

“He was illegally detained, abducted and disappeared by the Trump administration, though they admitted it was an error,” Ms 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.”

Organisers have accused the Trump administration of prioritising 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 Ms Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, a consumer rights advocacy group and a co-organiser of the Washington rally.

Organisers expected hundreds of thousands of protesters across the country, hoping for the biggest May Day Protests in US history. Previous protests have garnered thousands of attendees since Mr Trump returned to office on Jan 20.

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

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

Days after Mr 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 galvanising leader.

US Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont addressed a rally in Philadelphia.

In New York, US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez warned protesters that Mr Trump and the Republican majority in the US Congress “are going after Medicaid next”.

Ms Cortez, who has been touring the country holding rallies with Mr Sanders, said she had just learnt that Republicans “have stopped and suspended next week’s Medicaid cuts because they are getting too scared... But our fight is not over because they have only suspended” the cuts to Medicaid, the federal health insurance programme for low-income Americans.

She said there were 6,000 protesters in New York City and tens of thousands more demonstrating in Philadelphia, Idaho, Los Angeles, Denver, and Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona.

Also in New York, hundreds of lawyers attended a separate “National Law Day of Action” event near Manhattan’s imposing federal and state courthouses. Law Day is marked annually on May 1.

The lawyers chanted: “Respect our judges, give support. Stand behind them, and the court.”

Some prominent law firms have pledged millions in free legal work and made other concessions to Mr Trump in efforts to get him to rescind punitive measures against them. Others have filed lawsuits challenging his orders and have been supported by law professors, advocacy groups, state attorneys general, former top legal executives at large companies and others.

Federal judges have claimed the Trump administration has failed to comply with court orders regarding foreign aid, federal spending and the firing of government workers. The administration disputes it has defied judges.

Among the speakers in Manhattan was Mr Stuart Gerson, who served President George H. W. Bush, a Republican, as an assistant attorney general and also served President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, as acting attorney general.

“This is about country, not about party,” Mr Gerson told the crowd, recalling what Mr Bush told him when Mr Clinton asked him to serve in his Cabinet. “You don’t pledge fealty to an individual, you pledge fealty to the Constitution.”

In Los Angeles, demonstrators turned their ire on Mr Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Mr Trump’s hardline against immigration, hoisting banners declaring, “L.A. labour stands with immigrants” and “Resist Fascism.”

“The Constitution is being trampled on,” said Mr Mark Diamond, 62, from the Los Angeles neighbourhood of San Pedro. “If it takes four years, we’ll be out here 100 times.”  REUTERS